In tribute to Deaf Taylor Swift's passing in the series premiere of Scream Queens, first off let me say I am mowed over by it! Yes, death by lawnmower blows, but it was one of the highlights from the two hour debut of mayhem, murder and things that are politically incorrect. Hey I loved the show and will be watching as the rest of the evil unfolds. Want a few updates tied to the premiere? Well as we saw Nick Jonas who plays the token gay, Boone was offed by that gender neutral Devil killer. But in a twist of fate we saw at the end he was indeed alive and will live to pop a boner again with Chad (Glen Powell) - Since he has clearly sold his soul to the Devil in disguise, perhaps there is a more insidious agenda going on. The yummy Nick has this to say about it “I can tell you that he is a part of the team of people involved in this master revenge plan, His history with it goes very, very deep.” That's Hot! Bad news for those of you, like me, thought Ariana Grande was going to be like Drew Barrymore was in Scream and have a really great memorable (not to mention hilarious) death scene and be done. According to co-creator Ryan Murphy: “She comes back I believe in episode 6 and maybe more. She’s recurring definitely. Everyone thinks she’s gone but she’s not gone. We’re just not sure how exactly she’s returning." Really?! “I wouldn’t say ghost. Nothing you think is happening is happening on the show. You think some people are dead — they’re not dead.” Well OK, I for one am not a fan of this, but hey, you never know, it MIGHT work. PS, Jamie Lee Curtis, of course kills in this! Hey at this point in the show, you never know this could end up being a literal statement... Wave Your Hands in the Air and "Scream" like you just don't care at: http://www.fox.com/scream-queens
Billboard charting Singer/Songwriter Aiden Leslie took some time to slow down recently and chat with Entertain Me about his latest single I Just Go.
As you can well imagine other things came up during the conversation as well, but you are going to have to keep calm and read on to find out what those might be...so let's do it Aiden!
AL: When was the last time we spoke? We have done an interview before.
MS: Yes, it was for "Worlds Away" (laughs) that's why I thought it would be fun to do it again!
AL: That is so crazy! That was like, five years ago! It feels like it was just yesterday, but it's been five years, that's crazy!
MS: It's longer than I thought it was.
AL: It's half a decade! (both laugh)
MS: Pride season just passed, did you perform a lot during it?
Photo: Rick Day
AL: Yeah, I got to get around (laughs) Getting out there is always good. I just put "I Just Go" out. I feel really proud of the whole release of that single. Everyone on my team did a really good job of getting it out there. Artistically I am very proud of the work we did. That's always an important thing to do and to feel, especially in today's music climate. If you are proud of it and happy with it that's what really matters.
MS: That's how I feel about it too.
AL: We live in this fifteen second world. Where you have to get your message out in a very quick time frame, via Instagram or anything like that. People don't have the attention spans that they once had, because of the world we live in everything is so quick. So you see people putting out an album and not everybody really catches it because it is too much for people to take in, you know what I mean?
MS: Yes, when I was a kid I was an avid reader, now it's a lot for me to read a book. My attention span has diminished with the times.
AL: Right. There are pluses and minuses to the world we live in. There are so many benefits to technology, but on the flip side, do we really stop and savor much anymore? Like Madonna she puts out twenty-five tracks on an album because she has to get so much material out there in a short amount of time. Normally people would only do, like, twelve to thirteen tracks.
MS: My favorite track off of "Rebel Heart" is "Ghosttown."
AL: Oh My God! This is the funny thing. Reports on the tour which just kicked off is that she's not even performing it right now. It's pretty insane it got the most attention and it's the best song on the album! It's so well written, it's more like her old stuff. It's something Miley or Beyonce' would sing. It's really contemporary, I love that song!
MS: Speaking of contemporary, "I Just Go" really is. The video has gotten some great comments on YouTube.
AL: Yes, yeah...when we really sat down to think about how we were going to do it, there were a lot of different concepts. I really wanted to do something very cinematic and emotional with the video. The waves and running through the waves was this whole thing for me. It was like fighting both worlds trying to break out of one and go to the other. "I Just Go" is such a personal song. It's about doing the one thing over and over again and expecting a different result. That is the definition of insanity! (laughs) It's a universal theme of repeating and repeating something that is going to change, but it does not often change. It was written at a really dark time in my life when I was really hanging out with the wrong crowd and doing a lot of not good things, very unhealthy things. It caught up to me and I couldn't get out of it, it was like a hamster wheel. I was always trying to find my way in circumstances that weren't going to happen for me. It was about picking the wrong guys and picking the wrong situation. I think that is something we can all identify with.
MS: Definitely.
AL: We all go through that. The goal is to try and make the right choices. One of the lyrics in the song is "running down this path searching with my eyes closed searching for the truth." Running down a path, but you've got your eyes closed and refuse to see what is in front of you. You don't want to see it, it's always the struggle of trying to do the right thing. Like the the lyric says "I could care, but I just go." You keep doing the same thing over and over again until you finally learn, like Maya Angelou said: "Lessons are repeated, until they are learned." - when you know better you'll do better.
MS: By the way, I meant to say this earlier, I think the reason it doesn't seem like five years since we have spoke is because we have communicated through Facebook and Twitter.
AL: Yes! That's why! (both laugh) You see each other on Facebook and say "Hi" you don't even realize it. That's what I was talking about earlier it's a crazy world we live in. We're all connected, but then again we're not connected.
MS: It can be a little odd.
AL: Let's not make it so long since we actually speak next time!
No More "Wicked Games" for Chris Isaak, It's nighttime that rates first for this crooner...
Chris Isaak’s new album FIRST COMES THE NIGHT, his first recording of all original songs in over six years, is available for pre-order beginning today. Fans can stream the title track which premiered exclusively via the Wall Street Journal.
FIRST COMES THE NIGHT is available for pre-order via iTunes and Amazon in two configurations – a standard version and a deluxe edition which includes five additional songs and an expanded booklet with added photos and illustrations. With each order, fans receive an instant download of the song “First Comes The Night.”
FIRST COMES THE NIGHT, produced by Paul Worley (Dixie Chicks, Lady Antebellum), Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell) and longtime Isaak collaborator Mark Needham, will be released on Vanguard Records on November 13th. Recorded primarily in Nashville and Los Angeles, FIRST COMES THE NIGHT with 12 new songs, is Isaak’s 13th studio album. A second configuration – a deluxe version with five additional cuts – will be released simultaneously. FIRST COMES THE NIGHT is the follow up release to Isaak’s critically acclaimed 2011 BEYOND THE SUN, his breathtaking tribute album to Sun Records, Sam Phillips, and the visionary artists who helped shape the early sounds of rock n’ roll.
“There was no mission for this album other than to follow the songs, and in terms of songwriting, the floodgates really opened this time," Chris Isaak explains. "My last release was Beyond The Sun -- my tribute to Sun Records with a lot of covers -- so this time around I had a lot of new material that I was thrilled to record."
FIRST COMES THE NIGHT fittingly represents a number of firsts for Chris Isaak, who recently signed on to become a judge on the new season of X Factor Australia. As for FIRST COMES THE NIGHT, this is the first time that Isaak has written and recorded so much in Nashville, Tennessee. He recently spoke with USA Today about the experience.
With a stellar reputation as one of the best and funniest live performers out there, Isaak is a non-stop touring, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, actor and talk show host. His vocal style has garnered enormous acclaim and his songs have been featured in numerous films including “Blue Velvet”, “Married to the Mob” and “Wild at Heart.” His vast repertoire of long running hits include “Wicked Game,” “Forever Blue,” “Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing” and “Somebody’s Crying.” He has appeared on many TV shows – most recently “Hot in Cleveland”, has acted in several films and starred in Showtime’s The Chris Isaak Show and the Chris Isaak Hour on the Biography Channel.
FIRST COMES THE NIGHT - Track listing First Comes The Night Please Don’t Call Perfect Lover Down in Flames Reverie Baby What You Want Me To Do Kiss Me Like A Stranger Dry Your Eyes Don’t Break My Heart Running Down the Road Insects The Way Things Really Are
Bonus Tracks:
Some Days are Harder Than The Rest Keep Hanging On Every Night I Miss You More The Girl That Broke My Heart Love The Way You Kiss Me
"Life is like a Jackie Collins novel" - Michael Shinafelt
This startling revelation caught me by surprise somewhere back in 2010 when I was dating an actor half my age and juggling both our schedules and different friends and careers, mine being of course a writer, actor etc...So I immediately posted my momentary genius on my Facebook page and took it to Twitter!
After having been in Hollywood for 20 plus years it hit me like a bolt of lightning at that point and time in my life that "yes" me and my then boyfriend could easily be a basis for characters in one of her books!
Funny when I was growing up as a young lad in Washington State I used to find her potboilers entertaining, but thought that her statement that the characters and events were based on reality a bit of a stretch.
Yeah, well living in Hollywood I have been proven wrong on the abovementioned notion.
A few of my favorite Jackie yarns? Hollywood Wives was my favorite! Honorable mention goes to Lady Boss and Lucky.
She was a woman who lived a great and fascinating life. Someone who I wished I had met, so I could have had a character based on me in one of her escapist treatise.
R.I.P. Lovely lady, you made reality entertaining.
“Now a new generation of club kids can fall in love with singer Jade Starling.”
- Download.com (CNET/CBS Interactive)
“With the rapidly changing landscape of the music industry, artists are faced with two choices – evolve, or fade away. Jade Starling, of the ‘80s group Pretty Poison, chose the former, and it’s put her right in the middle of today’s vibrant EDM scene.” - Arena.com
Have you ever wondered what the lead singer of Pretty Poison would be doing if she didn't have 80's hair? Well here is your answer, yeah, that's correct, I am a giver.
Enjoying a career resurgence that includes a celebrated return to the Billboard Dance charts, JADE STARLING is enjoying her highest chart numbers since her iconic classic hit “CATCH ME I’M FALLING” topped the very same chart in 1987.
Starling’s latest hit “Better and Better,” has risen to #3, marking her 10th appearance on the chart since launching her career in the 1980s as lead singer of the platinum group Pretty Poison. “Better and Better” is the third single from Starling’s critically acclaimed solo debut album, CAPTIVE (Subpeona/Tazmania/Universal)
Starling’s current success with “Better and Better” is especially notable as the only indie-label release in the Top 10.
“Sharing the top 5 with current superstars Kelly Clarkson, Icona Pop and DemiLovato is a major accomplishment for me” says Starling, who has managed to achieve this on a fraction of the promotional budget powering those superstar records.
“Better and Better” was co-written with DJ Laszlo and Pretty Poison co-founder Whey Cooler. It features remixes from two of Dance Music’s most enduring legends, Stonebridge and Chris Cox, as well as festival favorite Tavo, Jeff Retro (resident DJ at Las Vegas’ Hakkasan Nightclub), WKTU mix show team Cova & Steel, Darulah (Romainia), Andy Sikorski (England), Mike Ferullo, Elektromind (Italy), and DJ Laszlo.
With her new found relevance, Starling is hard at work on a CAPTIVE ground tour which will launch in early 2016 and feature 3D technology.
Best known as the vocalizing half and award-winning songwriter of the platinum-selling duo Pretty Poison (#1 hit “Catch Me I’m Falling” on Virgin Records), the flame-tressed diva will be visible at a variety of venues and events in the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia region this fall, including appearances at the Sands Hotel Casino in Bethlehem PA (Sep. 29th), All Things That Rock Festival in Philadelphia (Oct. 3 & 4) with Ace Frehley of KISS, Carl Palmer of ELP, Lita Ford and more, and an appearance at the Westbury Music Fair (Oct. 30th) as part of the “Monsters of Freestyle” Halloween extravaganza.
I have a confession I have never seen an episode of New Girl. So why I am reporting on it? Megan Fox, Megan Fox, Megan Fox! I feel for you! That's correct minions THE Megan Fox is going to sublet while THE Zooey Deschanel is out breast feeding her baby. Show creator Liz Meriweather has this to say about Fox: "It's insane to me that such a gorgeous person can be so funny, but I guess we just all have to accept it" Accept it Liz let the feeling live within you. Hey I am a sucker for Foxy Megan - she is funny, yes I mean it! She will make me tune the fuck in for this!!! Werd! New Girl: http://www.fox.com/new-girl
With Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur both falling in September well it's prime time for what else? Shiraz! You get some Shiraz, and you get some Shiraz, and you get some Shiraz!
How apropos that there is now a film that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival affectionately known as TFF titled: September of Shiraz.
On the completely irreverent side and off the wall state of things the after party was sponsored by Grey Goose Vodka. Yeah the wine companies that produce Shiraz really took a snooze on this promotional opportunity.
But hey it produced a really rocking image of two totally hot and sexy stars and one very talented one - Gerard Butler, Salma Hayek and Adrien Brody combined to make a pretty compelling threesome at the premiere.
Hey, Gerard if you are going to be at any other film festivals in the near future please let myself and author M.E. Franco know, we're here for you!
