Call it a pretty good kick-off for the season. Horror punk band Calabrese, along with local frightful favorites The Renfields and The Big Bad are playing tonight at The Empty Glass.
Tickets appear to be seven or eight bucks.
Random updates
October 4, 2012 by Bill LynchSorry, it’s been a crazy busy week, which has thrown me off with updates.
First and foremost: Congratulations to the Chemical Valley Rollergirls. Charleston’s first roller derby team mercilessly crushed the Beckey Area Derby Dames on Sunday. I missed the final score (sorry, I had to get to work), but when I bailed it was around 200 to 45 and I haven’t located additional info.
Turnout for the bout seemed pretty good and I couldn’t help but admire the acoustics.
I also heard Shocka-Con exceeded expectations with a crowd of around 2500. A few people I spoke to said it was pretty cool for what it was. Obviously, Mike Winland was right. There’s a lot of interest for this kind of thing.
Second, we’re heading into another wacky season with lots of stuff to do. This weekend we have the Rod Run and chili cook-off in Charleston, the Kanawha Players have “Evil Dead: The Musical,” FOOTMAD and Jim Hurst at Woody Hawley.
In the upcoming weeks, there are approximately a billion festivals, plus a pretty busy music schedule, haunted houses, haunted trails, haunted barn, etc…
Anyway, I’ll try to keep up with it and get stuff out to you.
2012 Emmys: More guest blogging with Amy!
September 25, 2012 by Bill LynchSome thoughts on other Emmy night winners (and losers)…
1. Jon Cryer won for best comedic actor, beating out Alec Baldwin, Larry David, Jim Parsons, Don Cheadle and Louis C.K. Really? Really?!
How did this happen? Even he doesn’t know. (AP photo/John Shearer)
Also, how does “Two and a Half Men” have NINE Emmys and “Parks and Recreation” has none? The fact that millions more people watch that awful drivel than “Parks” (or any of NBC’s Thursday comedies, actually) is one of the biggest tragedies of TV today.
2. Speaking of “Parks and Recreation,” though not as surprising as Esposito’s loss, Amy Poehler was also robbed. She’s been nominated three times for the show but hasn’t yet won.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus was fine in the episodes of “Veep” I saw (I couldn’t get into the show, so I only watched a few), but c’mon! Amy Poehler is the funniest woman in primetime TV right now.
“Parks” also should have been nominated for best comedy series, too. Sure, it wouldn’t have won against the juggernaut that is “Modern Family,” but it deserved some recognition. It nothing else, it should have gotten the nomination over “30 Rock” (which had a subpar year.)
3. “Hatfields & McCoys” nabbed two major trophies: Kevin Costner for best actor and Tom Berenger for supporting actor. It also won three technical Emmys — makeup (non-prosthetic), single-camera picture editing and sound mixing — giving it 5 wins out of 16 nominations.
Both guys were a bit of an upset as Benedict Cumberbatch (“Sherlock”) and Ed Harris (“Game Change”) were the favorites. Costner’s not that surprising, though; as the category has shown, voters are partial to big names coming to the small screen.
4. Jessica Lange was the only major winner from “American Horror Story.” (It also won for best hairstyling.) Looks like all the folks who were so upset about it being submitted in the miniseries category were up in arms for nothing.
5. In a big surprise, “Mad Men” won none of the 17 awards it was nominated for. It seemed like a lock to repeat as best drama series but Showtime’s “Homeland” ended its four-year streak. At the least you’d think it would have won for cinematography or best writing — since it had three of the five nominations in that category.
2012 Emmys: Guest blogging with Amy!
September 24, 2012 by Bill LynchWhen I told Bill I’d do a guest blog today regarding the Emmys — well, one Emmy in particular — I figured it would be easy. I’m a little conflicted now, though.
The Emmy in question was Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
On one hand, Aaron Paul won for playing Jesse Pinkman on “Breaking Bad.” I love Jesse, so yay for that. Also, he’s only the fifth actor ever to repeat in that category, so yay for that, too.
However, as much as I love Jesse, co-star Giancarlo Esposito deserved that trophy, hands down. Heck, even Aaron Paul thinks so.
He told reporters backstage, “I cried in his arms; I said, ‘This doesn’t make sense to me that I’m on this stage and you’re not.’”
Gus was robbed…
Esposito was the heavy favorite (Jared Harris of “Mad Men” was the only person considered a potential threat), and I have said since the end of season four that he needed the award. Heck, I thought they should give it to him outright. His performance as the cold, calculating drug lord Gus Fring was that sublime.
WARNING. SPOILERS ARE COMING!
STOP READING HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN SEASON FOUR!
From the moment Gus wielded his box cutter in the first episode, he owned season four. Playing Gus the way he did — as a man who weighed every word he spoke and acted with emotionally-detached efficiency — Esposito was magnetic.
Three-time Emmy winner Bryan Cranston is a formidable presence as Walt, and Esposito didn’t just hold his own, but outshone him. I cared more about Gus and his story than about Walt, whose waffling between being a hotheaded criminal and self-pitying victim annoyed me.
In fact, I was sadder to see him killed than I would have been if it had been Walt. I actually would have liked to see Walt die, and then have this last season focus on the aftermath of that and the effect it had on Gus, Jesse and everyone else in Walt’s life.
I knew that wouldn’t happen, but I think it would have been interesting. And maybe then Esposito would have had another shot at the trophy he so richly deserved.
—–
Another surprising “Breaking Bad” Emmy loss — at least in my opinion — was for Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role (not to be confused with Special Visual Effects, which went to “Game of Thrones”).
The season four finale was nominated but lost to “Boardwalk Empire” for an episode called “Georgia Peaches.” I don’t watch the show, but based on a summary for that episode, I’m guessing the effects had to do with the death of two characters.
But c’mon, how could Gus’ explosive farewell not win?
Comic book guys
September 21, 2012 by Bill LynchIt seemed that I should do some kind of update on the Kickstarter/Graphic novel story before the end of business today. As so far, I haven’t been one to blog here on the weekends. I could do that, but there is such a thing as too much Bill Lynch.
Or so I hear…
Anyway, when I last checked, Wheeler and Pell had edged up closer to their goal of $11,600 to $10, 233. So… around $1200 and they’re home free.
Meanwhile, I’m considering starting my own Kickstarter campaign to fund production of my own cooking show.
“Cooking with Floppy Hats” could be a massive hit.
Maybe on PBS…
Benefit show for news guy Martin Staunton
September 19, 2012 by Bill LynchI got a note about a benefit show or former news anchor/reporter Martin Staunton (WCHS/ WWOK) at The Empty Glass Wednesday, September 26.
Staunton’s wife, Teresa Marie Staunton died from a stroke a couple of weeks ago and has had some health problems of his own. Staunton was also let go from his position with WVNS 59 News back in March, which probably doesn’t help matters.
Anyway, he’s got some friends in the music community and they’re doing a benefit show for Stauton and his family. Groups appearing include The Bob Thompson Trio, The Steve Himes Trio and the Spurgie Hankins Band. The music starts at 8 p.m. and the cover is $7.
I don’t know Staunton, but I do know some of the guys who are doing the benefit and if they’re involved, that tends to speak well of him.
Wednesday nights are slow anyway. Maybe go check it out.
Open letter to local musicians from Charleston East End Main Street
September 18, 2012 by Bill LynchDear Entertainer,
We would like you to invite you to perform at the inaugural market season of the East End
Bazaar open-air artisan market. The Bazaar is located at the corner of Washington St., East and Ruffner Ave. and will run every Saturday beginning with our Grand Opening on Saturday, September 8 until the end of October from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM.
At this time, we unfortunately do not have a budget to pay performers. We do, however, encourage patrons of the Bazaar to tip entertainers with a sign and tip jar near the stage. We also encourage performers to sell recordings of their act and other appropriate items.
The Bazaar features a prominently-located stage with dimensions of 12’ x 15’. The raised stage is
constructed of wooden pallets and has a back wall and corrugated metal roof. Unfortunately, at this point we do not provide performers with any sound equipment. We do, however, have a quiet gas powered generator which you are more than welcome to use to power amplifiers, etc.
We would like to schedule at least one performance for each market day, ideally at most heavily
trafficked hour. Scheduling acts ahead of time allows us to properly promote the performers and event. During market hours when there is no scheduled performer, however, we would like to open the stageup as an “open-mic” operated by the Market Manager.
The Bazaar will feature performers of all types, and while we expect the majority of our acts will be musicians, we would also gladly welcome improv groups, dramatic readings, mimes, one-act plays, any other theater group, jugglers, fire-dancers/breathers, acrobats, dancers of any style, poetry readings, and anything else you would like to perform in front of an audience. We ask only that you keep in mind that the Bazaar is a family-friendly environment, and so to please keep all performances “PG-13”. The Market Manager will have ultimate discretion in the appropriateness of any act.
If you would like more information or would like to sign up to perform at the Bazaar, please contact Market Manager Ned Savage at NSavage@CharlestonEastEnd.com. Thanks for your interest in performing at what we’re confident will be the next big destination in Charleston.
Yours,
Ned Savage
Market Manager
Charleston East End Main Street
304-767-9800
NSavage@CharlestonEastEnd.com
And now for something completely different…
September 17, 2012 by Bill LynchI do a lot of interviews with Contemporary Christian artists. I’m not a huge fan of the music, but I am a huge fan of interviewing them. I’ve never spoken to one who was anything less than articulate about their music, their message, their facial hair…
It’s just kind of nice to get to talk to someone who isn’t completely eaten up with music business jargon (A lot of country music performers) and doesn’t use idiotic phrases like “fan base” or talk openly about appealing to their fan base.
It makes me want to scream and listen to punk bands who sing about zombie cannibals in love.
Anyway, in the interest of balance, I got this note. I’m not familiar with Mr. Singleton’s work, but check it out if you’re so inclined.
Atheist Evangelist Sam Singleton to make
first West Virginia Appearance
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sam Singleton Atheist Evangelist, the creation of writer-actor Roger Scott Jackson, will perform his one-man satire Patriarchs and Penises, September 27, at 7:00 p.m., at the Alban Arts and Conference Center, 65 Olde Main Street, St. Albans. This will be “Brother Sam’s” first West Virginia performance.
“I’ve played in most every state, but it has taken nearly five years to make it to the West Virginia,” Jackson says.
Patriarchs and Penises covers a lot of ground, from a quick deconstruction of the Bible’s main story line, to a reminiscence of childhood terrors among “tongues-speaking, snake-handling holy rollers from the Ozarks,” to a merciless dissection of the role of God in civic life. It is, by turns, fascinating, horrifying, and hilarious; but, throughout, it is unlike anything that has come before.
Jackson offers the following assessment of life as the “world’s first full-time atheist evangelist (in the ironic sense)”:
“The satirist’s whole purpose is to trespass on somebody else’s sacred ground. But this is my ground, too. This is my own heritage I’m talking about. Holy Rollers are my people. They may be mad at me, but I am still one of them. I am an ethnic holy roller.”
Brother Sam’s is a cautionary story about a child raised among fundamentalists, who is groomed to follow his forebears into the ministry, growing up and becoming the atheistic antithesis of what his kin intended him to be. “Preaching is what he knows how to do,” Jackson says. “Of course he’s going to use his skills to make his way in the world. He’s got every right to.”
Before hitting the road as Sam Singleton Atheist Evangelist in 2008, Jackson worked countless jobs from fish gutter to bartender to reporter and English teacher.
The San Francisco blogger Greta Christina says, “If you have not seen Brother Sam Singleton, Atheist Evangelist, you are missing one of the great joys of life. Hilarious and chilling, erudite and crass, quoting Voltaire with a vivid Ozarks accent, Brother Sam’s performance kidnaps the style of a Pentecostal revival meeting and uses it to deliver a sharp, compelling, take-no-prisoners atheist rant that makes Christopher Hitchens look like a vanilla cupcake.”
Update on Earth, Wind and Fire at the Clay Center
September 13, 2012 by Bill LynchI just checked. According to the Clay Center’s website, there are right at eight tickets remaining for Earth, Wind and Fire.
If you haven’t got your tickets, now might be a good time to get them.
If anybody is interested, there are still about 430 tickets for Pat Benatar. The lower sections are pretty well sold out, but the upper balcony is wide open.
Marshall Artist Series: John Legend
September 13, 2012 by Bill LynchI was going to repost my review of John Legend’s show at the Clay Center with India Arie since Legend returns to West Virginia next week as part of the Marshall Artist Series… but it looks like that review in 2009 never got moved to the archives, which means it’s probably lost down the memory hole.
Kind of a bummer. The show was high water mark for the Clay Center. The theater was packed to the rafters and Legend’s performance was amazing –the kind of thing you’d like to see every time you go to the Clay Center.
So I don’t have a review, just some good memories from my seat up in the balcony somewhere.
Anyway, if you are so inclined John Legend is next week in Huntington.
Meanwhile, here’s the interview I did with him in 2009.
R&B superstar John Legend says not to believe everything you read about him.
“There’s just a lot of stuff out there that’s not true.”
However, it is very true the singer will perform Wednesday night in a sold out show at the Clay Center with guests India.Arie and Legend’s brother, Vaughn Anthony. He’s also currently on tour and mostly enjoying the summer, including the occasional side excursion, like a trip to the White House.
“It was very cool to see it,” he said. “I’d never been, but it was just a tour. The president wasn’t there. He was in New York.”
The singer-songwriter was a vocal supporter of President Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign and contributed a song that was available for download from the then-candidate’s Web site.
Legend is a man who seems to always be in motion, which is sometimes why what he’s actually done and what he hasn’t gets a little murky. Legend has six Grammys to his name and three albums. Two of them are certified platinum. His most recent, “Evolver” is certified gold.
He’s also appeared on numerous television commercials, programs and music videos. He’s had small parts in films and even sang “America the Beautiful” at the start of “Wrestlemania XXIV.”
“I like to have fun,” he said.
But he most definitely did not speak on behalf of The Polka Dotz, a high school-aged polka trio from Wauwatosa, Wis. at Milwaukee’s 2008 German Fest. He’s never heard of them.
Legend chuckled, “Somebody has a sense of humor.”
And so does Legend, which might not seem obvious, though he did duet with Stephen Colbert on the comedian’s Comedy Central show and also appeared on his Christmas show. Legend is best known for heartfelt, soulful ballads and also for his commitment to the Show Me campaign, an outreach effort to raise money and awareness to end poverty in Africa.
The program is managed by Millennium Promise Alliance, an organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty. Legend has been to Africa several times: sometimes to perform, other times for humanitarian work.
“We [Show Me] adopted a village in Tanzania,” he said.
He gets updates on how things are progressing a couple of times a year or as often as he asks. He says things are looking up.
“The rate of people contracting malaria has gone way down,” Legend said. “The number of young people who can go to school is way up.”
There is more access to clean drinking water, more health clinics and even the crop yields are up, he says.
“By every measure, things have improved significantly.”
Legend doesn’t take credit for it. Millennium Promise Alliance manages the business end of things, helps get the village what they need. The villagers and aid workers do the work. Legend improves awareness and helps with the funding.
“It’s all about having the right partners,” he said.
The same is true with music collaborators. Legend says he likes to work with people who show up, who know what they’re doing and are ready to work.
As for The Polka Dotz, they claim no responsibility for the Wikipedia entry, but said they would remove it – unless John Legend would like to make it true.