Butterflies + Happiness = KC and the Sunshine Band
KC and The Sunshine Band premiered the audio of their new single, “We Belong Together,” on PerezHilton.com. The song is the latest in an iconic four decade career that has promoted love, unity and happiness through music. Penned by Harry Wayne "KC" Casey, “We Belong Together” captured what the Grammy Award winner was feeling when he first heard the track. “I remember, I had just met someone, and it was right at that beginning stage when just the sound of their name gives you butterflies,” said KC. “It was around the time my namesake Casey Nayman, who is a DJ and the son of my close friend Larry, brought me this track and ‘We Belong Together’ was born. It came from that feeling of just wanting to be with someone, and knowing you belong with this person.” Listen to the audio premiere here.
Harry Wayne "KC" Casey
Photo: David Vance
After over 40 years, 100 million albums sold, nine GRAMMY nominations, three GRAMMY Awards, thousands of concerts and countless pairs of Boogie Shoes, multi-platinum selling, Miami-born dance group KC and The Sunshine Band continue to play hundreds of live shows annually. Fans can sing and dance along to mega hits "Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake Your Booty," "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way I Like It,” "Boogie Shoes" and more, as well as new songs like “We Belong Together” at KC and The Sunshine Band shows around the world. Full schedule below.
KC and The Sunshine Band on Tour: JUL 30 SOLBERG AIRPORT 39 WHITEHOUSE STATION, NJ JUL 31 RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE RIDGEFIELD, CT AUG 04 SYCUAN CASINO EL CAJON, CA AUG 05 SYCUAN CASINO EL CAJON, CA AUG 13 MILL RACE PARK COLUMBUS, IN AUG 14 MARTHA CLARA VINEYARDS RIVERHEAD, NY AUG 23 CENTRAL STATES FAIR RAPID CITY, SD AUG 27 TROPICANA SHOWROOM ATLANTIC CITY, NJ SEP 01 THE BOMB FACTORY DALLAS, TX SEP 16 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE OCT 09 PALACE THEATRE GREENSBURG, PA NOV 17 WOODBINE CONCERT HALL ETOBICOKE, CANADA
Say Dolly Parton is "Outside Your Door" - do you invite her in for coffee or do you have the neighbors over for a party? I choose party!!!
World-renowned singer/songwriter/entertainer Dolly Partonreleased a lyric video for "Outside Your Door," which premiered yesterday onOne Country. "Outside Your Door" is available for instant downloadHEREwhen you pre-order Dolly's upcoming albumPure & Simple, out August 19th on Dolly Records/RCA Nashville. "Dolly, as a national treasure, is at her best on 'Outside Your Door'... the tune, musically, is simple in production terms and features that classic Dolly charm with the lyrics." - One Country
"I may not be pure, but I'm as simple as they come! This new 'Pure & Simple' project is really special to me because I'm taking my fans back to my roots,"Dolly explained in a recent interview with Huffington Post. "I feel like these songs have a pure, tender side and we didn't go overboard with the arrangements. I'm so glad we've teamed up with our friends at Sony to get this album out to the fans."
DOLLY PARTON PURE & SIMPLE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR: July 29 Sprint Center - Kansas City, Mo. July 30 Scottrade Center - St. Louis, Mo. Aug. 02 Celeste Center- Columbus, Ohio Aug. 03 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum - Fort Wayne, Ind. Aug. 04 The Colosseum at Caesar Windsor - Windsor, ON, Canada Aug. 06 Van Andel Arena - Grand Rapids, Mich. Aug. 07 Ravinia Festival - Highland Park, Ill. Aug. 09 Norton Center for the Arts - Danville, Ky. Aug. 10 Ford Center - Evansville, Ind. Aug. 12 BOK Center - Tulsa, Okla. Aug. 13 Verizon Arena - Little Rock, Ark. Sept. 09 Molson Canadian Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON, Canada Sept. 10 Essar Centre - Sault Sainte Marie, ON, Canada Sept. 12 MTS Centre - Winnipeg, MB, Canada Sept. 13 Mosaic Place - Moose Jaw, SK, Canada Sept. 16 Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB, Canada Sept. 17 Rogers Place - Edmonton, AB, Canada Sept. 19 Rogers Arena - Vancouver, BC, Canada Sept. 21 ShoWare Center - Kent, Wash. SOLD OUT Sept. 22 Northern Quest Casino - Airway Heights, Wash. Sept. 24 Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, Calif. Sept. 25 Santa Barbara Bowl - Santa Barbara, Calif. Sept. 27 Valley View Casino - San Diego, Calif. Sept. 28 Vina Robles Amphitheatre - Paso Robles, Calif. Sept. 30 Laughlin Amphitheatre - Laughlin, Nev. Oct. 01 Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, Calif. Oct. 02 Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, Calif. Nov. 15 LeConte Center - Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Nov. 16 Von Braun Center Arena - Huntsville, AL Nov. 18 North Charleston Coliseum - North Charleston S.C. Nov. 26 Amalie Arena - Tampa FL Nov. 27 BB&T Center - Sunrise, FL Nov. 29 Pensacola Bay Center - Pensacola, FL Nov. 30 Smoothie King Center - New Orleans, LA Dec. 05 NRG Arena - Houston, TX Dec. 06 Frank Erwin Center - Austin, TX Dec. 09 Global Event Center at WinStar World Casino and Resort - Thackerville, Okla. Dec. 10 Global Event Center at WinStar World Casino and Resort - Thackerville, Okla.
Coming Wednesday September 14th to FX in your living room, it's the premiere of American Horror Story Season 6. So far all that is known about it is it is set in the present day and that Lady Gaga, Sarah Paulson and Angela Bassett are returning. Two influences I see when I view the trailer? The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is spot on in one of them with isolated house, the weird mobile above the baby's cradle and the odd hands grabbing desperately from under the stairs as someone descends them. Speaking of the baby's cradle does that demonic looking arm with a butcher knife look like it might belong to the Harmon's demon child from the end of AHS: Murder House? Perhaps, or maybe it's an all together new entity to terrorize us. All in all this is shaping up to be the most enigmatic season in the AHS cannon. Take a "Sunset Stroll" below...if you dare!!!
The Wind Beneath My Rock-N-Roll
Joan Jett & Bette Midler
Season 11 of The Voice is shaping up to be quite epic. With returning coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, newbies Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys have been added to the vocal re-mix.
But guess who else is coming to The Voice as vocal advisers??? Joan Jett will also be along for the ride. The Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame inductee was chosen by Cyrus, who joked about having sex with her and sang with her at her hall of fame induction ceremony.
Also none other than Bathhouse Bette, Bette Midler will be advising as well. Who, who, who brought the Bette on? Surprisingly it was Adam Levine. Apparently he digs her, interesting no? That being stated she will be working with Blake not Adam when the show airs.
There's going to be a whole lotta vocalizing going on when The Voice returns to NBC September 19th!
Does anyone wonder what would have transpired if Joan Crawford were alive today? Well wonder no more your prayers, or perhaps nightmares have been answered!
Check out the press release below to get the 411 on what m.o.m.m.i.e.D. is up to now, that's correct I said now, like at this very moment now...
When JOAN CRAWFORD is stopped at the gate to Hollywood Heaven and ordered to Hell “for reasons well known to her,” she charms (acts) her way past the aspiring-rapper guard and manages to enter Heaven on probation. To get off parole, she must return to Earth to both explain her Mommie Dearest sins and perform good works, most notably: rescue true celebrity back from today’s reality starlets and civilian selfies.
In her riveting posthumous fake autobiography, MOMMIE SMEAREST: See Joan Crawford In Bitch Selfie Ain’t Make You No Movie Star, Joan, writing as L. LeSueur, reinvents herself as the rap artist mo.m.m.i.e.D.
From a secret base at a Florida trailer park, JOAN CRAWFORD launches a raucous plotline that parodies today’s rich and famous − including reality starlets from Hollywood, Washington, Wall Street and the mall – many of whom Crawford finds lacking as true stars. As part of her good works to gain entry to Heaven, Joan plots to unmask a corporate executive blowhard in a mini-skirt-power-suit she views as a personal-brand-building fraud. And most significantly, Joan takes aim at the newest form of “d”-lebrities: everyday people who think they’re stars because their YouTube video has gone viral or their selfies have a thousand likes on Facebook.
In addition to trailer parks and a chicken-processing factory, readers are whisked into phony-fabulous locales including Trump Tower, pro-football stadiums, boardrooms, and the New York Times social columns. In between her squabbles and plot twists, Joan offers hilarious flashbacks from her own rich Hollywood life, including a never-revealed (until now!) audition for TV’s The Brady Bunch, and a feature-length lie called Monster Dearest: Keeping Up with the Crawfords, in which Crawford sort of, but not really, explains herself as Mommie Dearest. She even records her first rap song and video, “Bitch, Selfie Ain’t Make You No Movie Star”, watch it and watch it now!!!
In the end, multiple story lines converge into an affirming crescendo celebration that includes criminal indictments, a high-profile gay society wedding, and the final verdict on Joan’s entry into Hollywood Heaven. It all serves as a reminder of the ‘realness’ of fame, especially in today’s celebrity-obsessed culture where anyone with a smartphone can be a star.
As the world at large knows this past weekend Comi-Con in San Diego, CA happened. It's the biggest event of it's type that brings fans and stars together and melds them into one big...I was going to say "happy family" but having been I'm going to go with cluster fuck.
Here She Goes Again, Yay!
E.G. Daily
Photo: Erik Rimmer
Hey peeps, you know all about my friend E.G. Daily...correct? Well after years of doing voice over for various things, most notably Tommy Pickles from Rugrats and acting in everything from the classic Pee Wee's Big Adventure to Rob Zombie's upcoming 31. She is back to her singing career! Can I get an amen and a yay?! Of course I can!!!
With such hits as Say It Say It and Mind Over Matter - E.G. went back to her love of singing in a big way on the hit show The Voice in 2014, she was an audience favorite! She has ridden that wave since then with two popular appearances at the famed Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip. The first being on November 22, 2015 the next being this past weekend on Friday July 22nd 2016 with co-headliner Missing Persons, that's so 80's!
I attended both with Erik Rimmer. This past one I went with him and cool rider Marla Graves. All images are from that night, enjoy!!!
Superstar!
Photo: Erik Rimmer
Always Brings It!
Photo: Erik Rimmer
We Love You E.G!
l - r Marla Graves, Erik Rimmer, E.G. Daily & Michael Shinafelt
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is one of my all time favorite films! Thus when A&E's Bates Motel was announced I was very interested, duh!
The first season, while not bad, was trying to find a foothold, an identity of it's own. That was found in the following three seasons. Since most people know how it all ends, I am guessing when Norma Bates, portrayed by Vera Farmiga, was killed off by Norman Bates, Freddie Highmore at the end of season four, that the series had a five year plan to begin with.
Oh yes the upcoming season of Bates Motel is it's 5th and final. No worries here, five years makes it a money monster in syndication. Yeah, like I stated previously a "five year plan."
So how does one take an iconic film and make the prequel series unique, yet strangely familiar. Well expand on the character of Marion Crane who was offed in the first quarter of the source material.
Also you may want to do a casting get that is so out of left field no one saw it coming. Janet Leigh, who is Jamie Lee Curtis's Mom is the one and only original MC. So let's go as contemporary as one can get and still have some intrigue...drum roll please, Rihanna has been cast as Marion.
Personally I love this idea!!! Hey maybe instead of being brutally murdered in the shower this time around Marion will be stabbed multiple times under her Umbrella!
Kiefer Sutherland’s soulful baritone vocals and guitar licks continue to captivate audiences with his second music video, “Can’t Stay Away,” premiering exclusively this weekend during CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown. The track is the latest release from Sutherland’s debut album Down In A Hole, which will be released August 19 by Warner Music Nashville/Ironworks Music.Down In A Holewill be available for pre-order August 5. Clickhereto download “Can’t Stay Away.” Sutherland, who co-wrote every song on the upcoming 11-track album with producer Jude Cole, including “Can’t Stay Away,” just wrapped up a North American tour that included sold-out dates across the U.S. and Canada.
“We wanted the biggest look for the premiere of Kiefer Sutherland’s new song and video “Can’t Stay Away!”
“We wanted the biggest look for the premiere of Kiefer Sutherland’s new song and video!” said Leslie Fram, CMT Senior VP of Music Strategy.
“CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown has a weekly large, loyal base of country music fans who want to see what’s hot and new. “Can’t Stay Away” captures the live, intimate, real and raw essence of what Kiefer has been doing on the road, playing small towns and small clubs. Undeniable!’ Fram added.
CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown airs Saturdays and Sundays at 9a/8c.
Earlier this year Sutherland gave fans a taste of his songwriting notebook when he released the pedal-steeled “Not Enough Whiskey.”
“This record is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a journal or diary. All of these songs are pulled from my own personal experiences. There is something very satisfying about being able to look back on my own life, good times and bad, and express those sentiments in music. As much as I have enjoyed the writing and recording process, I am experiencing great joy now being able to play these songs to a live audience, which was something I hadn’t counted on,” Sutherland said of Down In A Hole.
Sutherland, an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, is known for his starring role on the Fox series "24," starring roles in movies like ‘Stand By Me,’ ‘The Lost Boys,’ ‘Young Guns,’ Flatliners,’ and many more. Sutherland’s upcoming ABC series “Designated Survivor” premieres this fall on ABC.
She sings, acts, models and battles lupus in a single bound, it's Super Selena Gomez who turns twenty-four today. File this under things that make me feel old. Seriously! Think about it she is only twenty-four and has accomplished all of that not to mention the latest addition to her resume' savvy business woman. The fact that Ms. Gomez is also a poised and beautiful young lady certainly doesn't hinder this one woman corporation either. Since I can't even fathom she is merely in her twenties I am going to let it ride and wish her the happiest of Birthdays and hook you up with her Instagram - she is the most followed celebrity on the app, with over 90 million followers...such an underachiever she is! Happy Birthday Selena! Selena on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selenagomez/?hl=en
Doughnut Divas
Hillary Clinton & Chloe Grace Moretz
Suck it Trump! The Democratic Convention is shaping up to be way better than the Republican one. What's that you say? How can it be when you had such power players as Scott Baio, Antonio Sabato Jr. & Natasha Badanov - Bwa ha ha ha ha ha! Yes moose & squirrel you can attend the DNC without fear of retaliation, and a special note to Michelle Obama who will be there supporting Hillary Clinton, no one will be copying your homework. Hillary knows how to werk it, she can probably twerk I suspect too. In addition to the first lady she is reeling in the women and youth of America with, well someone named America, speaking on her behalf, America Ferrera and her soul sister Lena Dunham in tow.
Also let's not forget Chloe Grace Moretz will be along for the ride too. Take that RNC! Be there or be, well, um, Republican aka Tragic July 25 - 28 when Philadelphia becomes the city of sisterly love. I'm With Her at: https://www.hillaryclinton.com
Remember Ruben Blades? I do, I used to process his checks when I worked in accounting at a talent agency in another life.
Between 1982 and 1984, music filmmaker Robert Mugge produced two feature length music docs for the UK's brand-new fourth TV network, appropriately named Channel 4 Television. Those two films were BLACK WAX with Gil Scott-Heron, now newly re-released on DVD and Blu-ray by MVD Visual, and GOSPEL ACCORDING TO AL GREEN. After both were completed, Andy Park, Channel 4's Commissioning Editor for Music who had funded both films, announced he would soon be leaving the channel. Mugge quickly realized, if he wanted Park to commission another film from him, he would need to act fast.
Therefore, in short order, Mugge proposed a film about the staging of Stephen Sondheim's then forthcoming musical Sunday in the Park with George. But before shooting could begin, the composer grew fearful that cameras could aggravate the stresses of an already challenging collaboration. So, sadly, that proposal was scrubbed.
Next up was a possible portrait of P-Funk mastermind George Clinton. But that proposal, too, was abandoned when the artist's own management noted his tendency not to show up when and where expected. Imagining what could happen to their modest budget if they booked crew, equipment, and supplies for a particular time and place only to have their subject fail to show, Mugge and Park soon abandoned that project as well.
Happily, Blades, Mugge, and Park did come to terms, after which Mugge and his crew spent the spring and summer of 1985 shooting the following: a concert by Blades and his band Seis del Solar at New York City club S.O.B.'s (Sounds of Brazil); an interview with Blades at his New York City apartment; a conversation between Blades and author Pete Hamill in a New York City park; Blades' graduation from Harvard Law School (including conversations with his mother and his dean); a Spanish-language recording session in Los Angeles featuring Blades and guest vocalist Linda Ronstadt; a joint interview with Blades and Ronstadt (who was then contemplating recording her own albums of Mexican songs she learned at home as a child); and a trip by Blades to his hometown of Panama City. In Panama, Blades was filmed on the balcony of his new high-rise apartment overseeing his city's changing landscape, in front of the bank where he once worked as an attorney, joining his father for a visit to the neighborhood where he grew up, in a courtyard discussing his intention to run for president of Panama one day, and walking along the Panama Canal discussing the sometimes tense relations between his native and adopted countries.
In the three decades since this film was made, Blades has accomplished much of what he set out to do, including (1) becoming a respected actor in Hollywood and independent films and television series; (2) continuing to serve as an effective political essayist and activist; and (3) continuing to record and perform powerful world music with both Spanish and English lyrics, and winning eight Grammy Awards and five Latin Grammy Awards along the way. Among his other awards and honors are a 2005 honorary degree from the Berklee College of Music and a 2011 Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award presented by ASCAP and partner Why Hunger for his international charity work. Just a few of the many films and TV programs in which he has starred or appeared are THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR, MO' BETTER BLUES, THE TWO JAKES, PREDATOR 2, THE JOSEPHINE BAKER STORY, CRAZY FROM THE HEART, THE SUPER, X-FILES, CRADLE WILL ROCK, COLOR OF NIGHT, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO, and FEAR THE WALKING DEAD. In 1997, Blades also headed the cast of The Capeman, Paul Simon's first Broadway musical. Although his run for the Panamanian presidency in 1994 was unsuccessful, he served as Panama's minister of tourism from 2004 through 2009 and, reportedly, is considering another run for the presidency in 2019. For more career highlights, please explore Blades' Spanish-language website and his English-language Wikipedia page. Blades has been married to singer LubaMason since August 4, 2006.
While surfing the internet trying to find something other than the Kanye West/Kim Kardashian feud with Taylor Swift (yawn!!) or the shit show known as the RNC (Republican National Convention) to engage my grey matter, I struck myself some world wide web gold! Feast your eyes on this uniquely amusing one of a kind image I found of one Ms. Sharon Stone. I'm not sure for what or why it was shot as it turned up on a blog I found, but it was too good to pass up posting on here and since Stone is one of my favorite actresses and this is my forum and I am a giver... Don't say I've never done anything for you peeps. Have a good one and remember only you can choose the insanity you participate in! Sharon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonstone/?hl=en
Country music superstars didn’t hesitate to come together for STARS BEHIND THE STARS to support the families of slain Dallas police officers. In light of the tragedy, more than fourteen artists, including Tanya Tucker, The Oak Ridge Boys, Mark Wills, Collin Raye, Janie Fricke, T.G. Sheppard, Kelly Lang, The Bellamy Brothers, T. Graham Brown,Johnny Lee, Gene Watson, John Conlee, Ronnie McDowell,Mickey Gilley and Moe Bandy, will travel from Nashville and beyond to perform during a benefit concert at the world-famous Billy Bob’s Texas Wednesday, July 27. Randy Travis will also make a special appearance during the event. Tickets ($10 General Admission, $20 Reserve) will go on sale Monday, July 18 at 8 a.m. CT. Doors will open at 5 p.m. CT. Click here to purchase tickets before this star-studded event sells out. STARS BEHIND THE STARS will donate 100% of all proceeds to Dallas Police Association’s Assist the Officer Foundation. The Assist the Officer Foundation provides immediate financial assistance to an officer’s family in the event of the death of an active officer.
The event is produced by Kirt Webster and Scott Adkins of Nashville-based Webster Public Relations in association with Concho Minick of Billy Bob’s Texas. Billy Bob’s Texas is donating the facility and providing staffing and marketing for the event. Advanced Aviation Team will provide private charter airfare to make it possible for artists to travel and participate in STARS BEHIND THE STARS.
STARS BEHIND THE STARS has partnered with Cumulus Dallas/Ft. Worth to be the official radio partner of the event. 99.5 The Wolf (KPLX-FM), 1310/96.7 FM The Ticket (KTCK-FM), 820 WBAP-AM, their other 4 stations will all participate in creating awareness for this event and the Assist the Officer Foundation.
T.G. Sheppard will serve as host and performer and the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame Band will provide their talent to back all of the artists. Texas Country Music Hall of Fame Band members include Mitchell Smithey, Wes Taylor, Charlie Shearer, Scott Moody, Curtis Randall, John Martinez, Angie McWhirter, Kyle Harris and Shawnda Rains.
ABOUT DALLAS POLICE ASSOCIATION’S ASSIST THE OFFICER FOUNDATION: The Dallas Police Association’s Assist the Officer Foundation (ATO) is a 501(c)3 non-profit, charitable organization that was formed in 1999 to provide peace of mind to Dallas' men and women in blue and their families by offering financial assistance to officers who are facing the loss of income due to a serious injury, life-threatening illness, or other catastrophic event, and immediate assistance in the event of a line of duty death. For more information, visit atodallas.org.
It's Sunday morning and I am at my computer having my morning smoothie before I am off to Gold's Gym Hollywood for spin class. For some reason I woke - up thinking about Looking star and sexy piece of guy Jonathan Groff. Remembering back to when Andy Cohen asked him what his turn on's and turn off's were on Watch What Happens Live and realizing I stood a chance. Here are Groff's answers:
Very hairy: "Turn on" Sex on the first date: "Absolutely" Someone who is only a power bottom: "No, you've got to be versatile." Someone who dislikes his bestie Lea Michele: "Definitely a turn off." A Broadway queen: "Borderline" Someone who's in the closet: "Turn off." Balding: "Turn on" Gym rat: "Turn off" Not interested in marriage: "Turn off" Mama's boy: "Turn off" Order for him at a restaurant: "Turn on"
I then ventured over to one of my go to sites Favorite Hunks & Other Things knowing if images of Jonathannaked were to be found I could search and and find them there and "yes" I did find what I was seeking...Groff in all his glory from an indie film called: Twelve Thirty.
Check them out at the link below and bend it like there's no tomorrow.
Love The Hair! About Those Sunglasses...
Gina Rodriguez
One of my favorite TV shows is the CW's Jane The Virgin starring Gina Rodriguez who turns plenty of heads each week as the brunette title character. Well Gina decided to go into the light recently and go blonde...so tell us Gina do they really have more fun?! "I mean I did have fun as a brunette"... she captioned the photo on her Instagram. I am guessing that is a "yes" from Ms. Rodriguez on her experience with blonde ambition. Brunette or blonde, Gina is to dye for! Happy Saturday! Gina on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/hereisgina/?hl=en
James Durbin left a lasting impression placing fourth on season ten of American Idol. Not only because he was one of the few contestants who performed rock to perfection, he was the only contestant ever on the show to have autism.
His debut album the rock oriented Memories of a Beautiful Disaster was a hit, which was followed up with the pop flavored album Celebrate, which was a departure from what Durbinators were hungry to hear from their idol.
Well James is back and ready to rock with his first new music in over two years Riot On Sunset.
In my opinion this is James best work as an artist to date mainly because the music is 100% pure Durbin. Durbinators rejoice, here's James! JD: Hey Michael, how's it going? MS: Fine, I love your latest Riot On Sunset, after Celebrate it's great to hear you rocking out again! JD: Not to take anything away from Celebrate it's a great album. But it's more of a studio album and it's not something that I like to play live too much. It still holds up, it's just not a James Durbin album necessarily. MS: I was going to ask how you felt about it, and you beat me to it. (laughs) Are you still going to experiment with different types of music in the future?
Ready To Riot
James Durbin
Photo: Heidi Durbin
JD: Yes. I am influenced by a wide array of music genres and artists. Everything from James Brown, Maroon 5 to Judas Priest. You might even find a Bieber track on my iTunes. (laughs) It's different songs for different reasons. The Bieber song in question has incredible production. As far as the kind of music I am making now, I am definitely back in my comfort zone. MS: My favorite song off of Riot On Sunset is the title track. Was that inspired by your performing at the The Viper Room? JD: You know I actually wrote that song when I was twenty. Probably a good year and a half before all the "Idol" stuff happened. I had started a band with some friends called Hollywood Scars and I was looking up different things about the Sunset Strip I wanted to embody that in a song. That ended up being Riot On Sunset which was an actual event that happened in the 1960's basically it was about kids wanting to have freedom of expression, to be yourself whether "the man" has anything to say about it or not. I kept pushing for the song to be on my other two albums and the label kept saying it's not good, we don't like it, it's not going on your album. When I was in Nashville working on my second album with James Michael, we had a talk about it, he said to me: "This is one of those songs that you write once in your lifetime, it's on of those songs that comes from somewhere else." That message spoke to me to open myself up to letting songs pass through me. MS: Seriously?! I can't believe the label said those things to you about that song. JD: There ended up being a struggle with it actually, after I left the label. They were going to keep it and not give it back to me. It fell in with my publishing deal with them. The fact that somebody can say they own a song that they don't think is good enough to go on a record is just stupid. We fought really hard and that's the one thing I got out of my termination deal with the label. This incident falls right in line with the story and vibe of the song, standing up for what you believe in, regardless of the fact that somebody tells you "No."
Photo: Heidi Durbin
MS: Your single Smackdown is doing really well, congratulations! JD: Yeah, yeah it's doing pretty good right now on the Loudwire Battle Royale. It's gone up to number one, it's still in the top five on the liter board. That's all thanks to my awesome adoring fans, they're truly something else. MS: They sure are! Every time I tweet about you, whoever runs J.D's Outcast Army is on it! They re-tweet me within five minutes usually. JD: When I was in Florida on a layover I went to Walmart at one in the morning and tweeted something about it. Immediately after I did it there were like four or five responses to it. It's a blessing to have such devoted fans. MS: Here's a somewhat off the cuff thing that I've always wanted to ask you. Have you ever been skydiving?
JD: I have not. They were trying to get me to skydive to promote my single Parachute off of the Celebrate album, yeah, that wasn't going to happen. Now I would have totally done the indoor skydiving at Universal City Walk.
MS: Does skydiving scare you? JD: It depends on what mood I'm in. (laughs)
James Performing
@ Universal City Walk
Photo: Michael Shinafelt
MS: Speaking of City Walk the last time I saw you was there performing for the organization Autism Rocks. It was a great show, you are always good live, how did you feel about that night? JD: It felt great! The idea of the organization is to bring awareness to autism. That it is not something to be feared. All we want is to be loved and accepted just like everyone else. MS: Personally, I accept people as they are, things like that don't scare me. JD: Good. People may look at us and think we act funny, but we could be looking at you thinking the same thing. (both laugh) MS: Thanks Buddy! JD: Thank You Michael!
