In The Ghetto

Elvis & Lisa Marie Presley

I was sad to hear the news of the passing of Lisa Marie Presley yesterday. So young, gone way to soon.

My condolences to her children and surviving family members. I'm going to leave you with my favorite thing she did musically. A duet with her Dad, the amazing Elvis Presley of In The Ghetto.

Rest In Power - you are now back in the arms of your Father...

Lisa Marie Presley on Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Marie_Presley   

Sunday Funday

Double Elvis
Austin Butler & Elvia Presley 

With all the buzz about Elvis it's on my must see movie list. That being stated I thought today we'd have a little Sunday Funday levity with side by side shots of the real Elvis and Austin Butler the actor who portrays him in the current film.

Do they look alike? IMHO not really. Do they resemble each other? Sort of. What Mr. Butler decidedly has captured is Elvis' "Presley-ness" - you know that inner energy that only one's soul can generate.

That is actually the most important part when tackling any real life person in an actor's portrayal of them if you ask me. "Yes" I know you didn't ask me, but it's my blog and I gave you my opinion anyway so there!

Have any of you seen Elvis? Drop me a line and let me know your thoughts. I'm interested.

Enjoy your Funday Minions!

Elvis on Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley   

Danzig Sings Elvis

“His take on “One Night” — Presley’s foot-stomping rockabilly barnburner, which made it up to Number Four in 1957 — retains all the lustful passion of the original with gently buzzing guitar and as much glorious slap-back reverb as Danzig could find” - Rolling Stone Magazine

The wait is finally over as punk rock icon DANZIG releases his highly anticipated new album DANZIG Sings ELVIS today with Cleopatra Records. After crediting Elvis Presley as one of his greatest influences, DANZIG has wrapped up this eagerly-awaited full-length album, which is also available on vinyl.

While recording this project, it was important for DANZIG to not only include some well-known Elvis recordings, but also some that were not hits, but influential nonetheless. With tracks such as “One Night,” First In Line,” “Like A Baby,” popular versions of “Fever” and a haunting rendition of “Always On My Mind,” there is no denying, DANZIG cut no corners when creating this iconic record.

The first single to be released was “One Night,” which stays true to its classic Elvis foundation while exhibiting a modern alternative polish unlike anything fans would expect to hear. The single was exclusively premiered by Rolling Stone on April 9, giving everyone a glimpse into what this anticipated album will be like.

Now that it is time to shine for DANZIG Sings ELVIS, his loyal fans are being transported back to simpler times as DANZIG pays tribute to The King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley.

To view Danzig’s exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, visit here.

To stream the single: orcd.co/danzigsingsonenight

To order/save the album: orcd.co/danzigsingselvisalbum

Just Because....I Called It

Love Me Tender
Austin Butler & Vanessa Hudgens

Just Because they are a cute couple, Just Because they are in my hood & Just Because I called it (we'll get to that in a moment) Here are Austin Butler & Vanessa Hudgens!

Aren't they cute out and about in Los Feliz (part of my immediate hood)? Aren't they cute I said, no answer me and answer me now!!! OK, have it your way.

What's that, oh yeah the I called it part of the "Just Because" - Well remember when I ran a piece on the actors in contention to play Elvis in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming biopic and Austin was one of them? Fine if you don't remember but you missed out. Why? Because I said Austin would (and did) land the role of Elvis Presley.

My reason was, while I am sure all the guys in the running were talented enough Austin bore the most physical resemblance to the late Rock-N-Roll legend. 

"Yes" I missed my calling I should have been a casting director.

Just Because I am a smarty pants have a groovy day!

Austin's casting announcement via Variety 
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/austin-butler-baz-luhrmann-elvis-biopic-1203257957/

You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog

Contenders to the Throne
l-r
Austin Butler, Ansel Egort, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Harry Styles & Miles Teller

With the success of Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman the Elton John one. Well biopics based on music legends are all the rage now. "Yes" as per usual Hollywood sees something that works and is going to ride the wave until it crashes.

Next up is one based on the life of Elvis Presley directed by Baz Luhrmann of Moulin Rouge fame. Apparently Tom Hanks is set to play Elvis' controlling manager Colonel Tom Parker. Yawn...I confess I have not seen the two mentioned above, nor do I have the inclination. This is one I especially will not see being Elvis' story as it has been done countless times already, unlike the other two.

What's that? Why won't I see the other two? Because Bohemian Rhapsody is badly reviewed and is  PG-13 film about an iconic musician who was gay and that happened to be a HUGE part of who he was. But wait, Rocketman tackles John's gayness quite openly with sexual scenes between two men you say. "Yes" and Elton John is still alive so why bother seeing it IMHO.

This being stated picture above are the five hopefuls who hope to portray Elvis who have tested for Baz. Personally I like my actors to resemble who they are playing which Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury and Taron Egerton as Elton John do. Thus I say if you must do this film Austin Butler for the win.

Elvis on Biography.com -
https://www.biography.com/musician/elvis-presley

Break Out Your "Boogie Shoes" It's 2016!

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SIRIUSXM PRESENTS "KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND -- LIVE IN CONCERT" ON NEW YEAR'S EVE

Satellite Radio Network to Broadcast LIVE From Lincoln, California on SiriusXM's 70's on 7 (Channel 7)

"KC and The Sunshine Band's songs are more than just hits. They have become iconic songs that represent an era. They're just as well known to teens of today as teens of the mid-70s." 

-- Goldmine Magazine.
 

One of the many ways of getting down for NYE 2016!!!

KC and The Sunshine Band’s music has served as the ultimate soundtrack for parties around the world since they boogied onto the music scene over 40 years ago with electric mega-hits like “Shake, Shake, Shake (Shake Your Booty),” “That’s The Way I Like It,” and “Boogie Shoes,” lighting up dance floors. To amp up New Year’s Eve celebrations and ring in 2016, satellite radio network SiriusXM will broadcast the multi-platinum selling and GRAMMY-winning band’s full concert, LIVE from the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California on its 70’s on 7 channel as part of an exclusive LIVE concert series. The show will begin at 1:30 a.m. on the East Coast on Friday, January 1. The 90-minute concert broadcast of KC and The Sunshine Band will feature the band’s scheduled set list of classic hits as well as new music from their latest album, Feeling You! The 60s, which hit stores in Spring 2015. With 15 band members, choreography, multiple brass instruments, elaborate stage lighting and various special effects, a KC and The Sunshine Band show is not just a concert – it’s a production meant to get listeners up on their feet and moving to every funky groove. Having been one of the most progressive bands of the 70s, KC and The Sunshine Band celebrate over 100 million albums sold, nine GRAMMY nominations, three GRAMMY Awards, and has been credited with changing the sound of pop music. Harry Wayne "KC" Casey Photo: Larry Marano Fronted by Miami-born Founder of the Dance Revolution, Harry Wayne “KC” Casey, the band’s music still remains popular today, appearing in over 200 movies, films and commercials and on party playlists around the world. KC and The Sunshine Band joins SiriusXM’s New Year’s Eve LIVE concert series line-up of A-list artists like Willie Nelson, Greg Allman, Jimmy Buffett, Widespread Panic, among others. The network’s holiday programming will also include its year-end countdown specials across fourteen music channels, classic New Year’s Eve concert broadcasts like Bruce Springsteen at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania in 1975 on E Street Radio and Elvis Presley at the Civic Center Arena in Pittsburgh in 1976s on Elvis Radio, and much more. KC and The Sunshine Band – LIVE in Concert on SiriusXM will be rebroadcasted on Jan. 1 at Noon and 6 p.m. ET, Jan. 2 at 9 p.m. ET and available On Demand. For more information and full broadcast listings, visit www.siriusxm.com. For more information on KC and The Sunshine Band, please visit www.heykcsb.com. # # #

Miley Cyrus: Don't Step On Her Blue Suede Shoes

Mley Cyrus Is An Elvis Fan

Miley Cyrus channeled the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley when appeared in an all white outfit as the hostess with the most cake at the opening of W Magazine's Shooting Stars exhibit.

"I was thinking this was very Elvis Presley," Cyrus stated "I thought it felt right because it was just his 80th birthday."

The bash took place at the Wilshire May Co. Building the future home of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Museum.

Large posters of celebrity portraits from the pages of W hung from the walls of the all black room.

Even though she did not wear any Blue Suede Shoes, Miley's tribute to Elvis was dead on.

The Shooting Stars exhibit, presented by Hugo Boss and supported by The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, runs through Feb. 22.

Miley's Instagram is too cool at: http://instagram.com/mileycyrus

Carrie Borzillo Was There, Kurt Cobain's Death Remembered

Carlton Books has announced the re-issue of author/journalist Carrie Borzillo's first book, 2000's Eyewitness "Nirvana: The Day-by-Day Chronicle," with a new cover, title, and design as "Nirvana: In The Words of the People Who Were There" on April 1, 2014 to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the tragic death of Kurt Cobain.

The book is on sale everywhere. Mr. Borzillo is selling a limited number of signed copies direct to the fans via her official website with a percentage of each autographed copy purchased being donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. 

Being a Nirvana fan I had to satiate my curiosity and chat with another fellow fan - one that actually authored a book on the subject, here is what transpired...

MS: So I just recently learned, with the re-issue of your book that you are a Nirvana fan.

CB: Yes, but I would never put myself up there with the real hard core Nirvana fans. I was a music journalist so I knew them professionally, and of course being a music journalist I was passionate about music and I loved them, but those real hard core Nirvana fans who are not journalists and do not work in the industry - the just love Kurt Cobain so much! Of course I'm a fan but those real ones can recite every lyric, I sometimes forget what I wrote in my own book, OK? (laughs)

MS: I'm a fan like you are a fan too, I completely love their music and what they stood for but, I can barely remember some of the things I write either. (laughs) Yeah my over the top fan days are long gone.

CB: It's great to feel passionate about music and all of that, but it's not like when you were a teenager or in your twenties.

MS: When I first listened to Nirvana their music used to hit so many deep emotional triggers for me as I have grown older I still love the music, and it still hits certain things for me, but now I look at it more as great music, it's not as emotional now.

CB: It's hard for me to listen to Nirvana still without feeling, at least for me, that huge sense of sadness. When he sings you can really hear that struggle and inner turmoil, it comes out in every word he says, every lyric, every guitar strum is so full of pain, it's hard to listen to.

MS: I'm from the Seattle area by the way.

CB: Oh Wow! Were you around when Kurt's suicide happened?

MS: I was in Los Angeles actually.

CB: I lived in Los Angeles but was flown to a party in Seattle, and was there the day it happened, what a fluke, huh? The biggest news story of my career probably. What timing, weird you know?

MS: Personally I think Kurt Cobain was the last iconic figure we will ever have in rock music.

CB: Absolutely! He was the last true tortured artist who actually had something important to say, that changed pop culture and the music industry, and flipped everything upside down. He made the un-cool people, cool, the misfits became the popular kids. He made it OK to be different and brought alternative music to mainstream. That wasn't really his intention and he honestly struggled with his being indie, cool and underground and all of the sudden that becoming the biggest commercial thing.

MS: I'm sure it was a surprise.

CB: There will never be that again, and if someone does come out again who is like a Kurt Cobain figure, we've got to start counting his days. Those true artists who are coming from a deep lace of pain and suffering are not long for this world. Kurt was never going to live past twenty-seven I think.

MS: What did you think about those who were trying to pin Kurt's murder on Courtney Love?

CB: This happens with anyone who is as big of an icon as Kurt Cobain. It happened with Jim Morrison, it happened with Elvis Presley, the only person it didn't happen with was John Lennon because that was a real clear cut incident with witnesses and everything.

MS: No debating that one.

CB: Because Kurt was such an icon and Courtney was around we he committed suicide. Of course there is going to be all these theories and mysteries, it was clear cut suicide. Listening to all of the conspiracy theories was fun, that Courtney hired somebody to kill Kurt. You know it wouldn't surprise me if Courtney ever said, or had a conversation with someone saying: "I want to kill my husband." But in this case he did this alone.

MS: Why do you think there was some doubt in people's mind?

CB: One of the facts is that the level of heroin he had in his system would not have allowed him to pull the trigger on the gun. The thing is, that is true unless you are a super junkie, Kurt was a super junkie. His tolerance level was higher than the average junkie. I mean if did that much heroin I'd be dead in a second. People always say: "Well Doctors say it's impossible" - Yes, Doctors do say that, but there is a but there, if your tolerance level is as high as Kurt's then it is possible.

MS: Exactly!

CB: With the reissue I didn't want to just capitalize on this horrible tragedy that happened, I wanted to give back and am donating some money to the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention, if you buy singed copies through me on my site. It's great to celebrate his life right now, we are remembering someone who contributed so much to the music industry. But let's bring it back to what really happened: drug addiction, suicide, depression...that's what was really going on with him. Anything I can do to shine a little light on that is what I want to do.

Buy an autographed copy of "Nirvana: In The Words Of The People Who Were There" via Carrie's website and give back at: http://www.carrieborzillo.com/

James Durbin: Santa Claus is Back in Town

Ho, ho, ho Durbinators & Merry Christmas!

While busy  in the studio recording his Spring of 2013 album follow-up to his hit "Memories of a Beautiful Disaster" JD was thinking of you...

Just in time for Christmas James has managed to give you guys a package to stuff your stockings, a cover of Elvis Presley's "Santa Claus is Back in Town", which happens to be the number one selling Christmas single of all time, thank you, Elvis has now left the building, bring on The Durbin!

"All the stockings were hung by the chimney's with care, in hopes that James Durbin soon would be there"...

Hey  Durbinators, have a rock-n-roll Holiday, here's Jame's package complete with a red bow on top and sealed with a kiss for all of you.

Wanna Rock This Christmas? www.durbinrock.com

For Immediate Release: Chris Isaak

BEYOND THE SUN LIVE!

JUNE 2012 (Check local listings)

The Singer’s Most Popular Hits in a Personal Tribute to the
Legendary Sun Studio in Memphis

This new PBS special showcases Chris Isaak in a personal tribute to the glory days of the legendary producer Sam Phillips and his Sun Studio in Memphis and the music created by his heroes (Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and others). Isaak recaptures the spirit of the original songs with his own brilliant band of stellar musicians, while revealing the heart and soul of his own deeply rooted musical identity.CHRIS ISAAK BEYOND THE SUN LIVE! is part of special programming premiering on PBS stations beginning June 2, 2012 (check local listings).

CHRIS ISAAK BEYOND THE SUN LIVE! was taped on February 13, 2012, before a live audience of music fans on the soundstage of Austin City Limits, the home of the legendary PBS music series. The three-act program begins with some of Isaak’s most popular hits, moves on to his tribute to Sun Records and then wraps up with a combination of both. All in all, it’s a celebration of Isaak’s own stellar career with some of his best-known and favorite recordings. Chris Isaak's ‘Beyond the Sun Live’ tour will continue through the end of 2012. To learn more visit chrisisaak.com.

Joining Isaak for this special evening is Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer and “The Queen of Rockabilly”, Wanda Jackson.

CHRIS ISAAK BEYOND THE SUN LIVE! Features these performances:

· “I Want Your Love”
· “Somebody’s Crying”
· “Wicked Game”
· “Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing”
· “I’ll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’)”
· “Ring of Fire”
· “Trying to Get to You” (with Wanda Jackson)
· “It’s Now or Never”
· “Crazy Arms”
· “Your True Love”
· “Miss Pearl”
· “Great Balls of Fire”
· “Blue Hotel”
· “Fujiyama Mama” (with Wanda Jackson)
· “Oh, Pretty Woman”
· “Can’t Help Falling in Love”
· “Big Wide Wonderful World”

Bonus tracks including:
· “You Don’t Cry Like I do”
· “Best I Ever Had”
· “Live It Up”

Plus behind the scenes footage.