His first appearance here was for his follow up single "Trying To Leave Now" and then Mr. Leslie was game enough to subject himself to "getting stupid" for me with his "10 Stupid Questions" chat. Well he is back and he is pursuing his "Diamond Dreams" take it away Aiden...! MS: Define what “Diamond Dreams” are. AL: "Diamond Dreams" are anything that you have a deep passion for that you can manifest into reality for yourself. In many ways it's metaphorically speaking to get what you want out of your life and be it.
MS: What were your “Diamond Dreams” growing up in Ohio? AL: I dreamed of something bigger for myself, someplace far away from Ohio. I dreamed of becoming a performer and singing on stage. Little did I realize that it would manifest into expressing myself through my own words and music. That has been the journey.
MS: You are a big Erasure fan and it really shows on this single, I'm sure that was the plan. AL: Yes, a huge fan of Erasure! Always have been really inspired by their music. I'm often compared to Andy Bell (a huge compliment that I do not take lightly), so I can understand what you may be hearing. MS: Any advice for those out there who want to follow their “Diamond Dreams” ? AL: We have one go-around--why not go for what you NEED out of your life. Persistence is 95% part of the equation. Remember this when people tell you will not succeed...because they will. You will also have your supporters--nurture those relationships, as they will carry you, when others will not.
MS: I've noticed you have been performing live a lot, how much do you love doing a live show? AL: Performing LIVE is why I do this...connecting the music and my message to the people. Hopefully it will move them and help them see something different in lives...that is what music is all about.
MS: So, what are Aiden's current “Diamond Dreams”? AL: I'm living them. Live Your Dreams! Log Onto: www.aidenleslie.com
This writer is indeed sorry to hear of Director Tony Scott's recent suicide, it was revealed today that he took his life over an inoperable brain tumor.
Tony directed many prolific films such as "Top Gun" & "True Romance" - most people forget (since it is so different from the rest of his repertoire) That he directed the elegant and artsy vampire flick "The Hunger".
With three of the most interesting leads in cinema history, the elegant and timeless Catherine Deneuve, the sexy and sensual Susan Sarandon & the enigmatic and never boring David Bowie.
This was a film that shaped me in my youth. Thanks to my late Father I have always had a thing for horror films. Cut to my first job ever in at the tender age of 16 in a movie theatre - and guess what film played in it, you guessed it "The Hunger"...
A modern take on vampire's it was the first time I had seen horror and eroticism blended so elegantly and artistically - this showed how horror could be adult and exciting. Since I got to see movies for free, I watched this at least 10 times! Sadly Hollywood does not make adult horror anymore and that's really a shame, and I think Scott's vampire yarn was pretty close to the last of this breed.
Tony Scott's "The Hunger" is one of the great modern horror films of American Cinema - and it really affected this writer, in fact one of my proudest possessions is the original lobby poster which I acquired on the job, I have it framed in my apt.
While there are many memories for everyone of this late great director of cinema, this is my personal and favorite one.
Guinea pigs, guinea pigs, guinea
pigs...and while we are on the subject, Corinne Dekker is here for
your entertainment, yes she of the guinea pig fetish – she is Ms.
Charo Pickles, Celebriguinea extraordinaires Mom and assistant to one
Ms. Jennie Garth on “A Little Bit Country” not to mention a
comedian, actress and accomplished vlogger - The Canadian born Ms.
Dekker is here to tell us: just how many licks does it take to get to
the center of an udder?...OK Corinne, we're waiting...!
CD: I know I dialed the wrong number, I
could not find where I placed the other one.
MS: You were prompt though, that's all
that matters. Most people are, only a few times has “late” really
happened, one of those times was when I interviewed Pamela Anderson.
CD: Really how late was she?
MS: She ended up being a half hour
late.
CD: That's not too bad.
MS: No, it wasn't and she was really
busy at the time. The funny part is once I got her on the phone I had
to cut her off at some point because I was running behind schedule.
She is the nicest woman, I loved her!
CD: It's because she is Canadian, we're
all like that.
MS: Oh, you're Canadian too!
CD: Yes, all of us are nice, except for
maybe Bill Murray. (laughs)
MS: So, let's talk “A Little Bit
Country” - I was loving the udder episode. I can't believe you
thought you needed to suck on a cows udder to get milk out of it!
CD: “A Little Bit Country” was a
real reality show...um, that whole bet with Jennie, where I had to
suck the cows udder if that was not the only way to get milk out of
one, I'm embarrassed to say, I did believe that.
MS: That was my next question, if you
really believed that.
CD: Well it turns out my Mom thinks she
probably told me that to make me drink milk as a kid, I don't know
what. (laughs) I still kind of believe it, if the milk is stopped
up that you should do that...it was legitimate so I clamped my mouth down on that udder, I
keep my bets.
MS: Udder sucking works, obviously,
but it isn't really necessary. (laughs)
CD: No, but there are worse things in
life than sucking a cows udder. (laughs)
MS: So I watched your latest vlog, I
liked the Piglympics and I know you have a thing for Guinea Pigs.
CD: They are the most lovely little
creatures.
MS: Yes, Charo Pickles is the
Celebriguinea of the group.
Charo Pickles
CD: She is the celebrity, she has a
Twitter and a Facebook page. She has fans of her own that are
independent of mine.
MS: Why the name Charo Pickles?
CD: Charo was my first guinea pig baby
and she has the same coloring as the actual Charo. Plus she makes
squeaky noises, like when Charo goes “Coochie, Coochie”. Then,
honestly I love dill pickles, so I thought, when you say it fast,
Charo Pickles, sounds like, jar of pickles. She will glare at me if I
only say Charo or if I just say pickles, so I always have to address
her as: Charo Pickles.
MS: You and I should go out sometime.
CD: Perfect! You like guys and I like
guinea pigs. (laughs) That could be a problem. (laughs)
MS: Getting back to bets and dares, your sushi dare was mega gross!
CD: I told Jennie about that. Yeah I
went for sushi and I don't really love sushi...
MS: It's not my favorite either.
CD: I mean it's fine, but...I ordered
the most disgusting looking sushi on the menu and it had a texture
like paint, it was just gross.
MS: Yeah, I am not a huge fan of sushi
either and never understood what people see in it. I mean I can eat
it, but I never suggest that me and my friends go and have sushi.
CD: Michael think about this, maybe we
are doppelgangers, maybe you are the male homosexual me and I am the
female Canadian you.
MS: Hmmmmmmmmmm....you may be onto something, Ms. Dekker.
CD: Well I feel the same way about
sushi and that makes something else we have in common.
MS: The last time I went for sushi was
about four years ago for someone's Birthday and me and a friend of
his threw Sashimi at him, of course we were drinking saki.
CD: Those were expensive airplanes!
(laughs)
MS: You were on “Ugly Betty” when
the show was actually good.
CD: I was on the second episode, and I
am to blame for the demise of it, if they had brought my character
back like they said they would, perhaps it would still be running.
(laughs)
MS: Also you were on “How I Met Your
Mother” I can't believe that show has been running that long.
CD: Yeah, what's it been on eleven
seasons? I remember when it was pretty new and me and my friends were
like: “That's a weird title, it will never work”. That was back
in the day when sitcoms did not have these epic long titles. (laughs)
It wasn't like “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
MS: That was a show I never understood.
CD: Oh I loved it, maybe you can help
me, I want to go on a date with Brad Garrett. I met him once and he
called me pretty.
MS: Funny?
CD: No, pretty, and I thought: “let's
make out” ! He's single now and I'm single, we wouldn't even have
to make babies because I don't want them. I'm single and ready to
mingle. I'm not sure who you know, but get me some Brad Garrett.
MS: I don't really have a celebrity
crush.
CD: Well it's not like I have a picture
of him on my wall, I just want to go on a date with him.
Two of my most favorite shows ever debuted last year..."Revenge" & "American Horror Story" and while I know I am a little slow on the draw with writing about the latest casting news, well whatever, I was busy writing about other things, so there and bite me!
So now I write as a fan of both shows who is over the moon or licking an udder about two of the most juicy pieces of casting evuh!
You got it, this is a fan gush, get over it. First off how brilliant was it of for the peeps behind "Revenge" to cast one of my favorite actresses, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Amanda's Mom?! She will more than go toe to toe with Madeline Stowe, she will obliterate that beotch, "Single White Female" anyone? JJL glad to have you back in a major role in a high profile project, the last time I saw you was at a Harmony Gold screening of your directorial debut with Alan Cumming - "The Anniversary Party" - "Yes" I know it's not the last time you worked, but it's the last time I saw you...go grrrrrrrrrrl, you are fierce!
Oh, and lest we forget one of the hottest men and stars on the planet, Adam Rivai Levine is on the second cycle of "American Horror Story".
Wonder if he will show butt like Dylan McDermott, odds on bet? "Yes" - hey he is sexy as heck and no proper hottie remains clothed in a horror opus.
Yep, I can't wait for the debut of these two shows, until then...I guess there is always "The People's Court".
Hey all you Durbinators out there, I caught JD live at Universal City Walk last night and he rocked da house!
Opening with "Stand Up" from his current album "Memories of a Beautiful Disaster" James was in top form as always (does he ever give a bad performance)???
Rockin' It
I was in the press pit, so I took photos for everyone to see, including one of me and James back stage in the green room before the show where I got to hang with him, his son Hunter and his adorable wife Heidi - not to mention my friend and Mr. Durbin's publicist extraordinaire Ken Phillips.
There really isn't much more to say than I had a great time as you can see from the photographic evidence from last nights show - Enjoy!
James and Myself Backstage Before The Show
And one more live shot to leave you begging for more...oh yeah!
James Rulz!
Get yourself some more James and "Memories of a Beautiful Disaster" at: www.durbinrock.com
YouTube sensation Lindsey
Stirling is perhaps the first – and only – artist in the world to
blend classical violin, modern dance, and pop into to one amazing
confection.
On
September 18th, Lindsey will be releasing her self-titled debut
album, Lindsey
Stirling,
coming off the heels of an incredibly successful presence on iTunes.
With 10 original tracks, the album will showcase Lindsey’s
signature violin-electronic-dubstep style – opening with
“Crystallize,” her most popular piece. Lindsey has already sold
over 300,000 songs, several of which have hit the iTunes Top 100 as
well as the top of the digital electronic charts. Lindsey also has
plans for a follow-up album of covers, putting her unique twist on
everything from existing video game themes to pop music.
Are you ready? Here is the
incomparable Ms. Lindsey Stirling...!
MS: I am so blown away by
your take on “The Phantom of the Opera” theme song!
LS: Oh neat! I was so
excited about doing it!
MS: Well I for one am
totally in awe your talent, I've never seen anything like it
in my estimation, ask anyone, I don't gush easily.
LS: That's so awesome!
Thank you so much Michael!
MS: You really took to the
violin.
LS: Well I was drawn to
the violin as a kid, because ever since I was little I had this
center stage syndrome. (laughs) My parents took me to all the free
orchestra concerts in town, and it was very obvious to see who the
stars of the orchestra were. (laughs) At the beginning of the concert
the violinist comes out and plays an “A” note for the orchestra
and I was like: “Wow, they are the stars of the orchestra”. I
started taking violin lessons when I was five, because I thought they were
beautiful, fast and fun!
MS: The passion when you
play the violin is so overwhelming.
LS: Generally I do it so
much, so I have to love it, it has never gotten old.
MS: You utilize it in
other mediums, expand on that.
LS: Well in High School
there were a bunch of guys who were in a rock band. I had a crush on
every single one of them. They were all older than me, but I played the
violin and I offered to play with them one time – they had me
play a song at one of their concerts. So, it's like oh my gosh, a
dream come true for me because all of these boys are so cute! From
there I ended up becoming part of the band and we went on this little
rock band tour....I was sixteen, it's a really fun memory, but
looking back we were not really very good. (laughs) But it opened my
eyes to how the violin could do all different types of music. They
all left on missions so I was left without a band and I started
writing music to my favorite radio hits, like: Hip-Hop. I explored
different types of mediums because I was kind of getting burnt out on
classical. Writing radio hits is what got me onto “Americas
Got Talent”. Then I decided I wanted to start writing my own music, music that I like, I started looking for producers – I always want to
keep a fresh style so I do everything from rock to trance music,
it's fresh and always new. Even with no vocals, people seemed to be
entertained the whole time.
MS: Even with no vocals,
with your “The Phantom of the Opera” video I was enthralled. Very few
people have ever attained that.
