"Basically, my life's great passion is the idea of being a guest-star on Scandal," Lena Dunham creator and star of HBO's Girls recently confessed during an interview withGrantland's B.S.Report."I want to be like, a senator who did something wrong."
Well Lena the Casting Fairy has granted your wish and you will be appearing on the drama this March.
No real details have been divulged, but I bet she is somehow connected with Olivia Pope & Associates, since everyone else in the world is a mere few degrees of separation from the agency headed by Kerry Washington as the "Pope" of Washington D.C.
Dunham reportedly wants to play an "evil character" - I hope so that would be juicy!
I have always loved Queen Latifah! When I first saw her in Set It Off I was a fan!
She has always brought something unique and interesting to every film she has graced. Not to mention she is one bad ass singer!
The news that her talk show has been cancelled is sad indeed. This being stated Ms. Latifah proves why she has the title of Queen.
Although the cancelled talk show will still run through March, since it has been given the boot the crew is no longer necessary. The Queen is using her own money to pay the show's crew through the Holidays.
"Your Family, Partners, Staff and Crew showed up with you every step of the way. Be very proud of that! Not everyone can say the same," the message continued. "You can also say you have been a blessing to and been blessed by amazing guests and incredible audiences for this show. We truly changed people's lives for the better. So…stay positive, stay strong, and most important, stay open...There is so much more God has in store!"
The Queen concluded with: "This letter is for me, my staff, my crew, and everyone who was by my side for this incredible journey," she wrote. "The most important thing in life is that you wake up every single day and take chances. No matter what the outcome…believe in yourself and continue to fly."
What's up next? Queen Latifah is getting great buzz for her portrayal of legendary blues singer Bessie Smith in HBO's upcoming Bessie. I can't wait!
Even though I spotted it as a dream sequence immediately at the opening of last night's episode of HBO's True Blood Jason Stackhouse's ( Ryan Kwanten) sex dream, which included one of the most passionate lip locks ever with vampire Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard) was blazing hot! With all the explicit nudity and sex scenes on the show, which I do love, this kiss was amazingly off the hook!!! I have kissed like this before and felt the passion between these two, kudos Kwanten and Skarsgard I took a cold shower after last nights episode. Hey, I gave up on True Blood and did not watch last season, but as someone who liked it for the first three seasons I had to tune in again for it's final one. If they keep this up to paraphrase a quote from the awesome movie Heathers: "The show will give me shower-nozzle masturbation material for weeks" Yippy Ki Yay! Do Bad Things at: http://www.hbo.com/true-blood#/
“SAFE AND SOUND” IS A HIT AT TOP 40, TRIPLE A AND HOT AC AND ENTERS TOP 20 OF BILLBOARD’S HOT 100
“SAFE AND SOUND” VIDEO NOMINATED FOR TWO MTV VMA’S
“KANGAROO COURT,” THE SECOND SINGLE FROM IN A TIDAL WAVE OF MYSTERY, ADDED BY KROQ AND 98/7 IN LOS ANGELES AND SF’S LIVE 105
Capital Cities is co-headlining the feel-good event of the fall concert season: “Bright Futures Tour” with Fitz and The Tantrums. The two high-energy, Los Angeles-based bands will kick off the U.S. run on October 20 at The National in Richmond, VA. Tickets are on sale now for the outing, which will include shows at Roseland Ballroom in New York City (October 23) and Washington, DC’s 9:30 Club (October 30).
Capital Cities have taken the world by storm with the break out hit “Safe and Sound,” which is approaching Platinum status in the U.S., where it’s a multi-format smash at radio. After hitting No. 1 at Modern Rock, it’s now Top 10 at Triple A, Top 15 at Top 40 and Top 15 at Hot AC. Featured on the band’s debut album, In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery, it’s in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, has over four million streams on Spotify and is the #4 most Shazam-ed track in America. “Safe and Sound” has been heard on “American Idol,” “TODAY,” “90210” and in more than a half dozen promotional campaigns, including spots for Nike, HBO and Smart Car. The track has already gone Platinum in Germany and Gold in Canada.
The official "Safe and Sound" video– directed by Grady Hall (Beck, Modest Mouse) – recently picked up two MTV Video Music Award nominations: Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction. The clip, which has racked up over eight million views, is a mash-up of the past 100 years of dance, presided over by front men Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian at the historic Los Angeles Theatre. It was choreographed by Mandy Moore(“So You Think You Can Dance,” Silver Linings Playbook).
Capital Cities – founded by Merchant and Simonian, two L.A.-based jingle writers who met on Craigslist – recently performed “Safe and Sound” on the outdoor stage of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” You can view their appearance. The band also recently performed at the Grove Summer Concert Series where over 7,500 people were in attendance.
Modern rock stations such asKROQ and 98/7 in Los Angeles and Live105 in San Francisco have already jumped on the band’s follow up single, “Kangaroo Court,” which Billboard hailed asa “summer jam if we’ve ever heard one.”The band – which USA Today praised for its “playful fusion of pop, rock and EDM” in a recent “On the Verge” feature – continues its world tour, with dates in Japan, Korea, Europe and North America.
Capital Cities – Upcoming Tour Dates
8/10 Osaka, Japan Summersonic
8/11 Osaka, Japan Summersonic
8/14 Seoul, South Korea Supersonic
8/17 Sterling Heights, MI MoPop Music Festival – Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
8/23 Eugene, OR Kaleidoscope Music Festival
8/24 Salt Lake City, UT The Gallivan Center – X96 Big Ass Show
8/25 Monterey, CA First City Festival – Monterey County Fairgrounds
8/30 Chicago, IL North Coast Music Festival
8/31 Calgary, AB X-fest – Fort Calgary
9/3 Luxembourg Den Atelier
9/4 Amsterdam Melkweg Oude Zaal
9/5 Hamburg Docks
9/6-7 Berlin Berlin Festival 2013
9/9 Frankfurt Gibson
9/10 Munich Muffathalle
9/11 Milan Magazzini Generali
9/13 Lisbon Santiago Alquimista
9/14 Madrid DCode Fest 2013
9/16 Paris Nouveau Casino
9/17 Cologne E-Werk
9/18 Antwerp TRIX Centrum voor Muziek
9/19 London XOYO
9/20-21 Atlanta, GA Music Midtown 2013
9/21-22 Denver, CO Riot Fest 2013
10/12-13 Mexico City Festival Corona Capital 2013
10/20 Richmond, VA The National *
10/23 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom *
10/24 Boston, MA House of Blues *
10/25 Wallingford, CT The Dome at Oakdale Theater *
This just in, "Entertain Me" friend and favorite Valarie Pettiford is out for "Blood"...!
I first interviewed Valarie about her collection of lullabies "Velvet Sky" on Chorus and Verse and for "ET" in October of 2012, you can jump to it here!
Well the multifaceted Ms. Pettiford has landed herself a two episode arc on the hit HBO show "True Blood" read more!
Award-winning star of stage and screen, Valarie Pettiford, is joining the cast of HBO’s top-rated Sunday night drama, True Blood, in a recurring role for their sixth season. She will appear in a two-episode arc starting in Episode 7: “World Without End,” which is scheduled to air on July 28, 2013.
“Working on this show has been a delicious experience,” says Valarie. “It has been an absolute joy to work with a cast of this caliber. Everyone has been so lovely – they say it starts at the top, and on True Blood, it really does.”
From the Broadway stage to independent short films, from blockbusters to music video cameos, this Fosse-trained dancer’s work draws attention. Valarie has a long list of accolades, including a Tony Award nomination, NAACP Awards nominations and Best Actress honors for the festival short ‘The Response.’ Valarie’s resume boasts national tours (Dancin’, Show Boat), hit sitcoms (Half and Half, House of Payne) and big-budget studio films (Stomp the Yard, Jumping the Broom). Her second album, Velvet Sky, a collection of original lullabies, was released last fall. Additionally, she has been sanctioned by the Fosse/Verdon estate to reconstruct the maestro’s choreography for a new generation of dancers in master classes in New York City. She is teaching with fellow Fosse-alum Lloyd Culbreath.
In case you are wondering where I'll be tonight, it's at The El Rey seeing Capital Cities....
IN A TIDAL WAVE OF MYSTERY,
CAPITAL CITIES’ DEBUT ALBUM, IS OUT !
“SAFE AND SOUND” HITS NUMBER 1 AT MODERN ROCK THIS WEEK!
BAND PERFORMS ON “CONAN” THIS THURSDAY, JUNE 6
AND “JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!” ON JULY 10
TOUR INCLUDES SOLD-OUT JUNE 6 & 7 SHOWS AT LA’S EL REY THEATRE & NUMEROUS FESTIVAL DATES, INCLUDING BONNAROO
In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery, Capital Cities’ debut album, was released today by Capitol Records, in partnership with Lazy Hooks. The group will make its national television debut on“Conan” this Thursday, June 6, and perform on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on July 10.
Produced by founders/frontmen Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian – two Los Angeles-based jingle writers who met on Craigslist – In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery includes the multi-format radio smash “Safe and Sound,” which is Number 1 at the Modern Rock format, Top 20 at Triple A and within the Top 40 at Top 40 radio. Praised by RollingStone.com for the way it merges “high-energy dance beats with unbridled optimism and joy,” “Safe and Sound” has already sold more than 260,000 copies and is featured on the NOW 45 compilation.
The videos that Capital Cities has made for “Safe and Sound” have more than 4 million views cumulatively. The latest – lensed by Grady Hall (Beck, Modest Mouse), a writer-director and creative director at GRAMMY®-winning Motion Theory – is being played on MTV, MTV2, Teen Nick, Fuse, Music Choice, Palladia, mtvU and MTV Hits.
The New York Times’ website premiered In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery in the week leading up to is release, which also features the tracks “Kangaroo Court”, “I Sold My Bed, But Not My Stereo” and “Farrah Fawcett Hair” which features Andre 3000. Capital Cities’ songs have been heard on “American Idol,” “TODAY” and the Iron Man 3 soundtrack as well as in promotional campaigns for HBO, Smart Car, Microsoft and more than half a dozen other spots.
Capital Cities brings its “Dancing With Strangers” headline tour home this week, playing two sold-out shows at L.A.’s El Rey Theatre on June 6 and 7. All proceeds from the June 7 show will go to MusiCares and A Place Called Home. The band will also perform at numerous festivals, including Bonnaroo, Firefly, Summerfest andKanrocksas.
Capital Cities – Upcoming Tour Dates
6/5 Anaheim, CA House of Blues SOLD OUT 6/6 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre SOLD OUT
Well, it's officially here, the movie no studios wanted to make. So HBO took it and ran with it. The movie that stars two great "A-List" actors getting their gay on.
It's Steven Soderbergh's "Behind The Candelabra" starring none other than acting legend Michael Douglas as the one and only Liberace and Matt Damon as his paramour Scott Thorson.....
Well I for one am excited about this HBO movie it looks like a really honest and poignant take on when gay performers were asked to stay in the closet no matter what. Of course who did not know Liberace was gay?! I'm just saying...
The supporting cast is quite stellar - Debbie Reynolds as Liberace's Mom is an awesome choice as she knew her in real life. Also on for the ride and perfectly cast is Rob Lowe as Dr. Jack Startz.
Wanna know what I will be doing this Sunday May 26th at 9 pm?
Happy Memorial Day Weekend, and cheers to a shit load of Emmy nominations, for what I am sure is going to be one of the most groundbreaking HBO Films, ever! Word!
Check out the "Behind The Candelabra" trailer below:
SET FOR HIGH-PROFILE TV APPEARANCES THROUGHOUT MAY IN ADVANCE OF HIS MUCH-ANTICIPATED ALBUM ‘WROTE A SONG FOR EVERYONE’ OUT MAY 28th
PERFORMANCES INCLUDE TWO CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS ON THE “LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN” MAY 21 AND 22
JOHN FOGERTY--one of rock’s most important artists and a national treasure who’s sold over 100 million albums--will makemultiple TV appearances throughout this month in advance of the May 28 release of WROTE A SONG FOR EVERYONE (Vanguard Records). A celebration of FOGERTY’s iconic songbook, the much-anticipated album is a collection of 12 classics and deep tracks (Creedence Clearwater Revival and solo material) from his remarkable canon of hits recorded in collaboration with today’s biggest superstars from the country, pop and rock worlds, plus two brand new solo songs.
The Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is set for two consecutive nights on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” He’ll perform May 21with his band and May 22 with Dawes, the band with whom he recorded “Someday Never Comes” for WROTE A SONG FOR EVERYONE. FOGERTY will also perform May 23on “The View” and be interviewed May 20 on “CBS This Morning.” *See listing below.
Underlining his enormous influence on music includes the world of country music,FOGERTY will perform his classic “Born On The Bayou”May 19 on the ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night Special (CBS, 9:00 PM ET/PT) with McGraw, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan. FOGERTY will also be featured May 18(9:00 PM)on HBO for the Rock and Roll Hall of FameHBO induction special performing“I Love L.A.” with new inductee Randy Newman as well as Tom Petty and Jackson Browne. FOGERTY also joins the show’s grand finale, with inductees Rush and Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, as well as inductee Chuck D., Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Gary Clark Jr., and more.
WROTE A SONG FOR EVERYONE marks FOGERTY's ninth studio solo album since disbanding Creedence Clearwater Revival. Mixed by Bob Clearmountain, it was recorded in Los Angeles and Nashville except for "Proud Mary" which was recorded inNew Orleans with Allen Toussaint and the Rebirth Brass Band. FOGERTY recorded“Fortunate Son” with Foo Fighters at their 606 studio using "the" legendary Neve recording console featured in the #1 iTunes documentary Sound City.
TELEVISION APPEARANCES
May 18: Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame - HBO - 9:00pm (ET/PT)
May 19: ACM Presents: Tim McGraw's Superstar Summer Night Special - CBS 9:00pm (ET/PT)
May 20: CBS This Morning - CBS - 7:00-9:00am (ET/PT)
May 21 & 22: Late Night with Letterman - CBS 11:30pm (ET/PT)
May 23: The View - ABC - 11am-12noon ET (check local listings for additional times)
John Fogerty--singer, songwriter and guitarist--has sold over 100 million records, earning 18 Gold Albums and 10 Platinum Albums. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, won the Grammy Award for his album Blue Moon Swamp in 1997and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. He is also a BMI Icon Award Winner. In addition, Fogerty and his #1 phenomenal recording “Centerfield” were honored during the 2010 National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies--the first time the National Baseball Hall of Fame has immortalized a musician or song as part of the annual ceremonies. He’s also called the “Father of the Flannel Shirt.”
CAPITAL CITIES ANNOUNCES “DANCING WITH STRANGERS” HEADLINE TOUR
L.A. DUO WILL ALSO PERFORM AT SXSW, ULTRA, EDGEFEST,
SASQUATCH! AND FIREFLY FESTIVALS
SINGLE “SAFE AND SOUND” CLOSING IN ON
TOP 10 AT MODERN ROCK RADIO
February 25, 2013 — New York, NY — Capital Cities will launch the “Dancing With Strangers” tour – its first-ever North American outing – on April 23 at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, AZ. The headline run will include a show at New York City’s Irving Plaza on May 9 and wrap up with a hometown show at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on June 6. Tickets for the “Dancing With Strangers” tour go on sale to the publicthis Friday, March 1, at 10 AM local time. The band will also perform at SXSW and at numerous festivals, including ULTRA, Edgefest, Sasquatch! and Firefly. See below for itinerary.
Dual frontmen Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian – jingle writers who met on Craigslist – have created significant buzz with “Safe and Sound,” the first single from Capital Cities’ self-titled EP. The track is fast approaching the Top 10 at Modern Rock radio with major airplay on such stations as KROQ-Los Angeles, 987-Los Angeles, Live 105-San Francisco and The End-Seattle and is also garnering adds at Triple A radio stations. “Safe and Sound” is No. 1 on Sirius XM’s Alt Nation and has already sold more than 82,000 singles. It has been heard on The CW’s 90210 and in promotional campaigns for HBO, Smart Car and more than half a dozen other spots. The band’s video for “Safe and Sound” has more than one million views.
Neon Gold hailed “Safe and Sound” as a “sonic head rush…an easy, breezy, beautiful slice of effervescent-electro-pop that absolutely kills it” while Status magazine said: "Consider yourself warned, listening to Capital Cities is habit-forming.” The EP, released by Capitol Records in mid-December 2012, is available digitally and as limited edition 12” vinyl editions. It’s title track and first single is selling upwards of 7,000 copies a week. The band is currently wrapping up work on its debut album, due out later this year, and a ‘Safe and Sound’ remix EP will be released on March 19th. A new remix off the EP, ‘Safe and Sound (Cash Cash Remix)’ will premiere on the popular dance music blog DancingAstronaut.com Wednesday, February 27th.
Capital Cities – Upcoming Tour Dates
3/13 Mission, TX Las Palmas Racetrack – Never Say Never Festival
3/15 Austin, TX W Hotel/SXSW NYLON Day Party – 2-5 pm
3/15 Austin, TX Lucille’s/Green Label House Party DJ SET**
3/16 Austin, TX Perry Brooks Building
3/16 Austin, TX The Belmont/SWSW Live Nation Labs Showcase @ 9 pm
3/16 Austin, TX Austin Music Hall/SXSW Perez Hilton Showcase
3/22 Miami, FL Bayfront Park/Ultra Music Festival (Weekend 2)
4/23 Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom 4/24 Tucson, AZ Solar Culture 4/26 Austin, TX Stubb’s Bar-B-Q
4/27 Frisco, TX FC Dallas Stadium/Edgefest
4/28 Houston, TX House of Blues – Bronze Peacock 4/30 New Orleans, LA House of Blues Parish
5/4 Washington, DC RFK Stadium-Lot 9/ DC 101 Chili Cook Off 5/8 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club 5/9 New York, NY Irving Plaza 5/10 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of the Living Arts 5/13 Toronto, ON Virgin Mobile Mod Club 5/14 Cleveland, OH Cambridge Room @ House of Blues 5/15 Detroit, MI The Shelter 5/21 Colorado Springs, CO The Black Sheep 5/22 Aspen, CO Belly Up
5/23 Fort Collins, CO Aggie Theatre
5/24 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
5/26 Quincy, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre/Sasquatch! Music Festival
5/29 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
5/31 Sacramento, CA Ace of Spades
6/1 Santa Barbara, CA Soho Restaurant & Music Club
6/5 Anaheim, CA House of Blues 6/6 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
6/23 Dover, DE Dover International Speedway/Firefly Music Festival
