Monday, November 2, 2015

12 Days Of Rage

Margaret & Friend
Photo: Mary Taylor
Happy First Monday of November. This came across my desk this morning via my friend and awesome publicist Ken Phillips. It's a message and a powerful one from his client Margaret Cho here is what she has to tell you:
"Twelve days until the premiere of  my new song and music video for “I Wanna Kill My Rapist”. For the 12 days leading up to it, I will be posting one video per day to tell my stories of sexual abuse. My “12 Days of Rage”. Please join me. Tell your story on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using #‎12daysofrage. Here is my first video.
“I Wanna Kill My Rapist” Video premieres on PerezHilton.com on Friday, November 13." 
                                                       12 Days Of Rage
Join Margaret in the crusade by sharing this message or your own story on social media. Let's give victims of sexual abuse a voice.
Share your rage with Margaret at:  

Sunday, November 1, 2015

The Nils Are Alive...

Nils Lofgren
"UK2015 Face The Music Tour"
coming to CD and digital platforms on November 13th


UK and US Tour Dates Announced
The Nils are alive with the sound of music, yep, you read correctly.

Nils Lofgren shows no signs of slowing down. When the E Street Band has down time, Nils seamlessly returns to his 47 year devoted solo artist fan base. After the successful release of an ambitious 10 disc career spanning retrospective last year entitled Face the Music , Nils began work putting together solo and duo acoustic shows to take on the road.
 
In January of 2015, Nils toured the UK to enthusiastic capacity audiences. Midway through the tour, his wife Amy insisted they record the last half of the tour, optimistic that it could lead to an album of live tracks that would capture the intimacy and inspiration they experienced night after night. The result is the UK2015 Face the Music Tour album, comprised of stellar performances by Nils Lofgren on vocals, keyboards, guitar and lever harp, and accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Greg Varlotta on vocals, keyboards, guitar, trumpet and tap dance percussion. As with all Nils' live shows, the passion, musicianship and wonderful stories from his long, exceptional musical journey are front and center on this new recording.

 
To commemorate the release of the album Nils will be returning to the UK at the end of October, for 21 shows. Prior to departing he will join his longtime friend Neil Young for the Bridge School Benefit Concert at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View California. Organized annually by Neil Young and his wife Pegi, this year's event will feature Neil Young and Promise of the Real, Nils Lofgren, Sheryl Crow, St Vincent, Gary Clark Jr and the Dixie Chicks, among others. Proceeds from Bridge School Benefit tickets go to the Bridge School which helps children with severe disabilities and communication impairments. 
 
Nils will continue to tour acoustically in 2016 including confirmed shows in the USA that include stops in Durham NC (1/21/16) Atlanta GA (1/22/16), Nashville TN (1/23/16), Conroe TX (1/29/16), Dallas TX (1/30/16), Austin, TX (1/31/16 ), Oakland CA (3/9 and 3/10/16), Mill Valley, CA (3/11/16), Saratoga, CA (3/12/16 ), Staten Island NY (4/1/16), Alexandria, VA (4/22 and 4/23/16), Uncasville, CT (4/29/16), NYC (4/30/16), Minneapolis, MN (5/17 and 5/18/16), Milwaukee, WI (5/19/16), Chicago, IL (5/20/16), and Valparaiso, IN (5/21/16).
 
"In January 2015, after a three year break from our traditional acoustic UK tours, we headed back in the dead of Winter, excited for another run of shows, town to town, on the bus, sharing music that hopefully spreads some good will and hope to linger with the wonderful audiences we've had, decade after decade. Accompanied by Greg Varlotta, our friend and amazing, multi-instrumentalist and our stellar crew, we all set out to do special, inspired shows everywhere. We were all thrilled with the audience response and it was Amy who insisted we record the last half of the tour, optimistic it could lead to an album of live tracks to commemorate this wonderful UK run. She was right and here it is. We hope you all enjoy it. It really is the audience that breaths the life, fire and inspiration into every performance. God bless you all and thanks again for your presence and magical energy, night after night, town after town, note after note. Peace and Believe." Nils Lofgren
 
 

Saturday, October 31, 2015

The Halloween Five

Satan In Disguise -
Michael Shinafelt

"Happy, Happy Halloween, Halloween, Halloween. Happy, Happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock!"

Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a quite underrated movie. John Carpenter and Debra Hill were approached by Universal to do a third Halloween film after the studio picked up the sequel to the indie smash Halloween.

Their plan? To do a franchise under the Halloween banner every year, with a different theme. Turns out the public demanded and only had love for Michael Myers. Gotta give those two credit though for trying to be innovative and fun!

Which brings me to the theme of this year's Season of the Witch post. I am going to give you five of my favorite fright films, in no particular order, with the exception of number one. I bet you already know what that is...
Halloween
Always Number 1!
1) Halloween - This is my one and only when it comes to sheer horror. I can not count how many times I have seen it and how much I love it! It was the first horror film my Father took me to, and it scared the shit out of me. It is still under my skin to this day, even though I know what's coming. Jamie Lee Curtis rules!


2) Excision - Teen angst, domineering mothers, delusional aspirations of being a world class surgeon.
This psychological gore fest is a brilliant feature debut from Director/Writer Richard Bates, Jr. It also features two great performances from AnnaLynne McCord and Traci Lords.


3) Psycho - Like mother like daughter. Janet Leigh shocked the world of cinema by appearing in Alfred Hithcock's then explicit and never seen nothing like it thriller Psycho. Janet as you may or may not know was the mother of future Scream Queen and Halloween star, Jamie Lee Curtis. This movie still holds up today as a master class in film making and what an intelligent slasher film could and should be.
4) The Hunger - was anything sexier than Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie slashing their prey's throats with an ankh and drinking their blood at the height of orgasm? Well, one more thing in this awesome vampire flick was, the sex scene between Deneuve turning Susan Sarandon into her latest immortal fling. Tony Scott's best.


5) Cat People - No, not the original in 1942. That one I never saw the big deal about. But the re-imagining of it by auteur Paul Schrader. While the film is more of an erotic fantasy. It is peppered with enough horror elements and violence to really set it above the cut. With Malcom McDowell at his freaky best and Nastassja Kinski doing what she does best...meow, sex kitten.

While these are not the only Holiday Flicks I love, they are the cream of the crop to me. With John Carpenter's Halloween always remaining #1 in my blackened heart.

Happy Halloween! Until next year...

Follow me on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/MShinafelt    

Friday, October 30, 2015

Treat: Tanya Tucker On Halloween!

Remember The Alamo?
Tucker Appears on "The Alamo Jones Show" on Sirius XM Channel 60
Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1
Join the legendary Tanya Tucker tomorrow, yes tomorrow as in Halloween tomorrow. All treat and no tricks, promise!

Country music icon Tanya Tucker will charm listeners this Halloween weekend when she appears on “The Alamo Jones Show” Saturday, October 31 from 1–5pm (CDT) on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country (Channel 60).

Tucker, known for charismatic and witty personality, will open up about her nationwide tour underway as well as some of her outlaw stories from the road and her illustrious career. The sassy and outspoken star is one of the few women to successfully penetrate the Outlaw Country movement.

In addition to Tucker’s appearance on Saturday, SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country will replay “The Alamo Jones Show” again on Sunday, November 1 from 5–9pm (CST).

Currently, Tucker is preparing for the launch of a new album while criss-crossing the country with her instantly recognizable vocal flare and legendary repertoire that includes “Some Kind of Trouble,” “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane,” “Love Me Like You Used To” and many more.

Of course, no Tucker performance would be complete without her breakthrough hit, “Delta Dawn.” The Alex Harvey-written classic, which launched thirteen year old Tucker into superstardom in 1972, anchors a performance that showcases her hits as well as stories and anecdotes from her 40 year career.

Since her 1972 debut, Tucker has enjoyed an incredible career that garnered her four Platinum albums and eight Gold albums. In a storied 40 year career, she has produced 23 Top 40 albums and a string of 56 Top 40 singles, 10 of which reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts. Along the way, she has provided some of the biggest country music hits of each decade, including, “Blood Red and Goin’ Down,” “Would you Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)” and “Texas (When I Die).” Tucker is also the recipient of numerous awards, including two CMAs, two ACMs, and three CMT awards.

Follow Tanya Tucker on TwitterFacebook and Instagram or visit tanyatucker.com.

Tanya Tucker on Sirius XM Outlaw Country (Ch. 60)
Saturday, October 31 1–5pm (CDT)
Sunday, November 1 5-9pm (CST)

Tanya Tucker on Tour
Oct 30 – State Theatre – Eau Claire, WI
Oct 31 – The Palladium – Carmel, IN
Nov 01 – The Arcada Theatre – St. Charles, IL
Dec 03 – Golden Nugget Casino – Las Vegas NV
Dec 04 – Wild Horse Pass Casino – Chandler AZ
Dec 30 – Soaring Eagle Casino Resort – Mt. Pleasant MI

Thursday, October 29, 2015

A Different Kind Of "Tomboy"

Bend It Like
Michelle Rodriguez
Ever since Michelle Rodriguez hit the scene in the indie film Girl Fight she has always marched to the beat of her own drummer. In other words she is fantastic!

So leave it to her to star in a most unique tale about "an assassin who is double-crossed by gangsters and finds herself under the scalpel of a rogue surgeon known as “The Doctor,” who turns him into a woman. Rodriguez’s character then seeks revenge on the gang"

No your eyes are not deceiving you Michelle is going to play a transgender assassin. If anyone can pull this off it's her. 

FYI "The Doctor" will be portrayed by none other than Sigourney Weaver, who coincidentally co-starred with Rodriguez in Avatar. One must always have a partner in crime I always say and Sigourney is a game actress up for anything.

Oh, yeah, the movie has a title too: Tomboy, A Revenger's Tale 

It was written and will be directed by veteran action dude Walter Hill, best know for the cult film The Warriors and 48 Hours with Eddie Murphy.

Booyah! 

March To Your Own Drummer With Michelle at: 
www.michelle-rodriguez.com/   

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Me & Mrs. Bones

Who's That Dead Couple?
Three more days 'til Halloween/ Halloween/ Halloween/ Three more days 'til Halloween/ Silver Shamrock.

With only three days left 'till Halloween there is a plethora of celebrities springing up all over the Internet in their finest Holiday attire.

Can you guess who this couple is? The Bone Ranger & Tonto? Mr. & Mrs. Bones? ....if you guessed Mr. and Mrs. Josh Duhamel then you guessed well! Throw yourself a, you guessed it, bone! Ha!

Don't Fergie and Josh look great as a Day Of The Dead couple? They would both look good wearing paper bags over their heads honestly.

Wonder when Fergie is coming out with some new music?

Happy Halloween Countdown Wednesday

Celebrate the Season of the Witch with 

Fergiehttps://instagram.com/fergie/

Joshhttps://instagram.com/joshduhamel/?hl=en  

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

"Hello" I Win!

Adele: Watch Your Back Taylor Swift!
Yes, you heard correctly, our Lady Of Adele kicked Taylor Swift's skinny white girl booty! Her video for her single Hello which made it's debut Friday and has earned her, what else? Rave Reviews and got the most views of any video in a 24 hour period. Thus dethroning Swift's previous title holder Bad Blood.


Total Views in a 24 hour period:

Bad Blood: 20.1 million

Hello: 27.7 million


Wow! I must admit I am somewhat biased when it comes to this, because I honestly have never watched the video for Bad Blood, no, really, I haven't. However I did pounce on Adele singing Hello  and watched it the minute it surfaced. 

Nothing against Taylor she simply isn't my thing, Adele on the other hand...well I'm pretty sure you figured out what team I am on at this point.

Hope there is no Bad Blood over this, wait, I take that back. In the spirit (pun intended) of the season bring it!

Four more days 'till Halloween, Silver Shamrock....

Team Adelehttp://adele.com/

Team Taylor Swifttaylorswift.com/