So Big..."Tower Of Power" Turns 48!

That's One Huge Tower!
Tower of Power

Tower of Power Celebrates 48th Anniversary in 2016 Doing What They Do Best: Playing their Brand of Soul, Funk, Jazz and Rock to Sold-Out Crowds Around the World

Like Towers? This one is huge!
 

Since their formation in 1968, Tower of Power have been recording and touring, playing hundreds of shows annually and releasing 18 studio albums, seven live albums, six compilations and three DVDs. Additionally, Tower of Power has recorded with hundreds of artists as diverse as Aerosmith, Elton John, Little Feat, Phish, Santana, Heart, and many others, forever infusing the radio airwaves with the band’s musical DNA. The legendary group, known for its unique blend of Soul, Funk, Jazz and Rock, plan to celebrate their 48th anniversary in 2016 doing what they love: performing for their fans. With new generations of fans discovering their timeless music, Tower of Power have never been busier or more in demand. "As we push the envelope globally, our audiences are getting bigger and bigger and younger and younger,” said Emilio Castillo, bandleader for Tower of Power. “What a blessing to see this younger generation seeking out this type of music and also to see so many up and coming Tower of Power ‘clone’ bands endeavoring to play our music." About Tower of Power: Since 1968, Tower of Power has been delivering its unique brand of “Oakland style” music and maintaining a class of its own. Leader and founding member Emilio Castillo labeled the group’s sound as “Urban Soul Music.” Over the years, Tower of Power has performed with some of music’s biggest names including Elton John, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Huey Lewis, Little Feat, Dionne Warwick, David Sanborn, Paula Abdul, Aaron Neville, Aerosmith, Michael Bolton, Billy Preston, Rod Stewart, Toto, and more. Tower of Power’s rhythm section lays down a groove like no other band. The horn driven sound is unique from writing and arranging to mixing and performing. The group’s collection of hits includes “You’re Still A Young Man,” “So Very Hard To Go,” “Soul With a Capital S,” “Soul Vaccination,” “What Is Hip?” Each year, Tower of Power tours the United States, Japan and Europe, playing sold out shows all over the world. Tower of Power Tour Dates: Dec 19, 2015 Gent, Belgium Handelsbeurs Dec 20, 2015 The Hague, NL Paard van Troje Dec 30, 2015 New York, NY BB King's Dec 31, 2015 Hartford, CT Infinity Hall New Year's Eve Show Jan 8-13, 2016 Oakland, CA Yoshi's at Jack London Square Jan 15, 2016 Agora Hills, CA The Canyon Club Jan 21-24, 2016 Seattle, WA Jazz Alley Jan 26, 2016 Bremerton, WA The Admiral Theater Jan 30, 2016 Grand Ronde, OR Spirit Mountain Casino Feb 6, 2016 Stateline NV Harrah's Tahoe South Shore Room Feb 12-14, 2016 Las Vegas, NV South Point Hotel & Casino April 19, 2016 Alexandria, VA The Birchmere April 22, 2016 Collingswood, NJ Collingswood Scottish Rite Theater April 23, 2016 Glenside, PA The Keswick Theater April 26, 2016 Moscow, ID Kibbe Events Center - University of Idaho May 21, 2016 Cancun, Mexico Oasis Arena at the Grand Oasis Hotel & Resort

Actress & Breastfeeding Pixie, Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano
Who Wears Short Hair? I Wear Short Hair!

Happy 43rd Birthday to Alyssa Milano ! Alyssa has been one of my grrrrrrl crushes since Charmed, no not Who's The Boss, I like my women legal. 

One of the things I adore about her, is not only her special brand of pretty & accessible. But she is also down to earth and no nonsense. If she believes in something she is not one to trifle with. For example her recent middle finger wave to those who criticized her for breastfeeding in front of others. Hello?! She spends hours in a make-up chair, what is she supposed to do, starve her child?!

So what does one do for your 43rd Birthday when you have it all? Why go pixie or go home! Yes Alyssa took to her Instagram page with her latest version of the pixie look.

About twelve years ago she wore a short do on Charmed. She captioned the image with the following: "Short hair don't care"

Of course her followers went wild pontificating:

"Season 6 Phoebe is back!" one person said.

The late great Elizabeth Taylor also made the mix.

"Remind me of Elizabeth Taylor," a fan wrote.

"You look like Elizabeth Taylor beautiful," said another.

Love you Alyssa missing you on Mistresses!

Look for the Hair Necessities with Alyssa on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/milano_alyssa/?hl=en 

Encore! Encore! Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors"

Dolly Parton Wishes You a Merry Christmas!

TV Movie Will Air Once More December 25 9/8c

Snuggle up with your favorite coat and watch! 

Less than a week after 15.6 million viewers watched “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors,” NBC is giving families another chance to watch the TV movie with an encore special presentation Christmas Day at 9/8c. "I hoped to bring some families together so they could sit and watch a move like this. I really wanted to celebrate the people, my whole family, who made me who and what I am today. I'm so blessed and thankful for everyone who watched and I hope this story reaches many, many more when NBC shows it Christmas night," said Parton. “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors” ranks as the most-watched film on the four broadcast networks in more than six years with 13 million viewers during the initial Dec. 10 broadcast, and Nielsen live +3 nudging the total up by 2.5 million to an overall 15.6 million, plus a 27% hike that nudged the 18-49 demo from a 1.8 to 2.3. L+3 ratings measure live viewing plus DVR viewing up to three days later. The film is set in the Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains in 1955. It is neither a biopic nor musical about Parton’s whole life and performing career, but rather a family-oriented faith-based story about the incidents in her and her family’s life around the time she was 9 years old. “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors” is the first in a planned series of TV movies inspired by the country music icon’s songs. The TV movie is available to watch now on NBC.com, NBC apps and Set-Top Box On Demand. # # # WATCH NOW: www.nbc.com/coat-of-many-colors/video/dolly-partons-coat-of-many-colors/2948111 RECOMMENDED TWEET: .@nbc to re-air @DollyParton's #CoatofManyColors Dec. 25 9/8c after incredible ratings success - LINK   For more information on Dolly Parton, visit: www.dollypartonentertainment.com Facebook: Facebook.com/DollyParton Instagram: Instagram.com/DollyParton Twitter: Twitter.com/DollyParton Tumblr: OfficialDollyParton.tumblr.com Google+: Plus.Google.com/+DollyParton

There's a New Sheriff in Town: Margaret Cho

Sheriff, Margaret Cho
Photo: Mary Taylor 

MARGARET CHO JOINS "FASHION POLICE" AS SPECIAL CO-HOST FOR 2016 SEASON BEGINNING JANUARY 11, 2016

"I love joining the crew of Fashion Police. To me it feels like family. although I am not quite a fashionista, I would love to look at it like I am changing it up - Fashion Police:Special Victims Unit. It makes me happiest to spend time with Melissa, and when I see her laugh at my joke,  I feel like Joan is smiling, somewhere."  Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho was the deputy, but, she never shot the sheriff. She could have though... 

LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET AND FASHION POLICE RETURN THIS JANUARY TO COVER THE BIGGEST AWARD SHOWS OF 2016

FASHION POLICE TO DELIVER BIG LAUGHS AND UNFORGETTABLE FASHION WITH CO-HOSTS MELISSA RIVERS, GIULIANA RANCIC, BRAD GORESKI, AND NEW SPECIAL CO-HOST MARGARET CHO

This January E!’s signature series "Live From The Red Carpet" and comedy favorite "Fashion Police," will return to cover the biggest award shows of 2016.  The popular E! franchises will make their new year debut with coverage of the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, and keep the festivities going throughout the entire award season.  

Only E! brings the real magic of the red carpet to life, and beginning this January, "Live From The Red Carpet" will return to deliver that spark to millions of pop culture fans around the world.  Hosts Ryan Seacrest, Giuliana Rancic, and the rest of the E! “Live From The Red Carpet” team will immerse fans in every part of the red carpet action to capture each unpredictable moment, all the gorgeous fashion, and the most memorable and buzzworthy conversations with the biggest celebrities.  Through E!’s unprecedented camera coverage, second screen experiences and personal relationships with the Hollywood elite, “Live From the Red Carpet” will truly take fans behind the velvet ropes for all of the exciting, spontaneous, and headline-making moments as they happen, and bring viewers the unique and authentic interviews that pop culture fans crave.  Plus, join E! in celebrating Ryan Seacrest’s ten year anniversary hosting “Live From The Red Carpet” throughout the 2016 red carpet season.  From Jennifer Lawrence and Taylor Swift’s love fest to Jimmy Kimmel turning the mic on Ryan live on the air to Sacha Baron Cohen’s infamous ashy spill, E!’s viewers know to expect the unexpected.

The Gang Bang's All Here
Fashion Police

 The day after each big award show “Fashion Police” will report for duty to cover all the night's hottest fashion moments and trends.  Beginning with the 2016 Golden Globes, co-host and executive producer Melissa Rivers, along with co-hosts Giuliana Rancic and Brad Goreski will break down the can't miss celebrity fashions from the awards show and after parties, and offer up juicy pop culture commentary on all of the breaking entertainment scoop!  This season, the show welcomes funny woman Margaret Cho, who joins the team as the special co-host throughout all of 2016.  The fab foursome will also be joined by a rotating celebrity guest chair each episode –  Fashion Police fans can rest assure that this awards season will bring big laughs, omg moments and lots of jaw dropping fashion!

Schedule:

Golden Globes

-   Countdown to the Red Carpet: The 2016 Golden Globe Awards – Sunday, January 10^th at 4p ET/1p PT

-   Live From The Red Carpet: The 2016 Golden Globe Awards – Sunday, January 10^th at 6p ET/3p PT

-   E! After Party: The 2016 Golden Globe Awards – Sunday, January 10^th at 11p ET/8p PT

-   Fashion Police: The 2016 Golden Globe Awards – Monday, January 11^th  at 8p ET/PT

Screen Actors Guild Awards

-   Live From The Red Carpet: The 2016 Screen Actors Guild Awards – Saturday, January 30^th at 6p ET/3p PT

-   Fashion Police: The 2016 Screen Actors Guild Awards – Monday, February 1^st at 8p ET/PT

Grammy Awards

-   Countdown to the Red Carpet: The 2016 Grammy Awards – Monday, February 15^th at 4p ET/PT

-   Live From The Red Carpet: The 2016 Grammy Awards – Monday, February 15^th at 6p ET/PT

-   E! After Party: The 2016 Grammy Awards – Monday, February 15^th at 11p ET/PT

-   Fashion Police: The 2016 Grammy Awards – Tuesday, February 16^th  at 8p ET/PT

Academy Awards

-   Countdown to the Red Carpet: The 2016 Academy Awards – Sunday, February 28^th at 1:30p ET/10:30a PT

-   Live From The Red Carpet: The 2016 Academy Awards – Sunday, February 28^th at 5:30p ET/2:30p PT

-   E! After Party: The 2016 Academy Awards – Sunday, February 28^th at 11:30p ET/8:30p PT

-   Fashion Police: The 2016 Academy Awards – Monday, February 29^th at 8p ET/PT

Michael Jackson, Death Becomes Him

MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER IS THE FIRST ALBUM CERTIFIED RIAA 30X MULTI-PLATINUM, THE KING OF POPMAKES HISTORY (AGAIN)! THRILLER REMAINS THE BIGGEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME, TOPPING 100 MILLION SALES WORLDWIDE I'm sure Michael Jackson is Moon Walking in his grave right now.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Estate of Michael Jackson, Epic Records and Legacy Recordings announced today that Michael Jackson’s THRILLER is the first album in RIAA Gold & Platinum Program history to be certified 30X multi-Platinum for U.S. sales, continuing The King of Pop’s reign as the biggest selling artist of all time with worldwide sales of over 100 million for Thriller and 1 billion overall.    “RIAA has awarded Gold & Platinum records on behalf of the music business for nearly 60 years, but this is the first time an artist has crossed the 30X multi-Platinum plateau,” said Cary Sherman, Chairman & CEO, RIAA. “We are honored to celebrate the unique status ofThriller in Gold & Platinum history. What an exceptional achievement and testament toThriller’s enduring spot in our hearts and musical history.” Michael Jackson’s masterpiece Thriller, produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson, won a record setting 8 Grammys, more than any album ever, and has been earning awards and setting new standards of success since its release on November 30, 1982. Thriller spent nearly 2 ½ years on the Billboard album chart and holds a modern day record of 37 weeks at No. 1.  It was the first album in history to spend each of its first 80 weeks in the album chart’s Top 10, a feat only reached by one other album in the more than three decades since. During its 112th week on Billboard’s album chart, it became the first title ever to be certified RIAA 20X multi-Platinum (October 30, 1984). Worldwide, Thriller went to #1 in practically every country in the world, including the UK, France, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Belgium, South Africa, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada and apartheid South Africa.   The album was acclaimed for its range and depth. Rolling Stone referred to the album as a “watershed” moment for Michael, and Newsweek prophetically wrote that “Michael’s voice haunts these songs, gives them heart…It is what will make this music endure.” Seven tracks from the album became Top 10 singles, and three, “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” and “Thriller,” went No. 1. ALL nine assumed a permanent place in hearts and memories of everyone on the planet.                                                                    Thriller More than just an album, Thriller has remained a global cultural multi-media phenomenon for both the 20th and the 21st centuries, smashing musical barriers and changing the frontiers of pop forever. The music on Thriller is so dynamic and singular that it defied any definition of rock, pop or soul that had gone before. “Beat It” was a new kind of pop-rock hybrid and demolished the longstanding segregation between black and white music with Eddie Van Halen’s incendiary guitar. On “The Girl Is Mine,” a black man and a white man bantered about the same girl. On the same album were songs like the African-rooted “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” and the rhythm and blues-based “Billie Jean.” No one had ever released an album with such a vast range of material. “Perhaps Michael’s most significant racial trailblazing came with music videos,” wrote Joe Vogel in Man in the Music. Fascinated with the fledgling art form, Michael wanted to tell a story and entertain on a grand scale. Despite the luscious cinematography, dramatic narrative and spectacular choreography of “Billie Jean,” a fledgling MTV, which was programming white rock artists almost exclusively, refused to play it. Epic persisted. Once the wall came crashing down, MTV’s ratings soared and a door was opened for a generation of African American artists. “He was MTV’s Jackie Robinson,” said cultural critic Touré. Next, came the unforgettable short film for “Beat It,” which featured Michael bringing two gangs together through the power of music and dance. And then there was “Thriller.” Premiered at the AVCO Theatre in Los Angeles in 1983, it sold out every night for three weeks. No other video before or since has generated such excitement and has such a hold on our attention, such that more than 30 years later we all share it as a collective memory and it remains the only music video to be inducted into the elite National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. The importance of Thriller was recognized by Michael Jackson’s industry peers at the Grammys.  Thriller was nominated in a record-breaking 12 categories, and won a history making eight, which stands as the record for most Grammy Awards to be won by any album. Seven of those Grammys that year were awarded to Michael for: Album of the Year; Record of the Year ("Beat It"); Best Male Pop Vocal Performance ("Thriller"); Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical (Thriller); Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("Beat It"); Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("Billie Jean"); Best R&B Song ("Billie Jean"). (Michael's eighth Grammy that year was in the Best Recording for Children - Single or Album, Musical or Spoken category for "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial"). That same year, Michael Jackson took home eight American Music Awards and three MTV Video Music Awards. The following year, "The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller" took home the Best Video Album trophy at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards.    # # # SOCIALS: RIAA: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram  MICHAEL JACKSON: Website / Facebook / Twitter

Oh Beyonce' Tree, Oh Beyonce' Tree...

How lovely are your lashes? 

This year your children can put their presents under the new shade of Christmas Tree, Beyonce'!

She is the gift that keeps on giving. With plenty of room to put your gifts behind her, to admire all the flash in front. Beyonce' Tree also can sing many different carols on command and in many different styles.

Complete with a top ornament of a Santa hat, and rosy red lipstick. Your Yuletide is all here in one bad ass piece of decor, that will be the envy of all your friends and family.

Oh, and let's not forget, those boots. They're made for walkin' in a Winter Wonderland!

So break open the champagne and Celebrate Christmas with Beyonce' Tree! 

For the low Holiday friendly price of $59.99 at:

https://www.instagram.com/beyonce/

www.beyonce.com/

https://twitter.com/beyonce

https://www.facebook.com/beyonce

Ho Ho Ho! "It's Xmas (and Everyone is Miserable)"

What would Christmas be without some Bah Humbug thrown in for good measure? Get into the Holiday spirit with an original Christmas song from Seattle’s Dirty Sidewalks.  “It’s Xmas (and Everyone is Miserable)” is here, downloadable and available for streaming via this SoundCloud page:   https://soundcloud.com/nocountrecords/its-xmas-and-everyone-is-miserable   Combining the mirth of Christmas jingle bells, twangy guitar licks, a thumpin’ drum machine, punchy production and dead cool vocals, Dirty Sidewalks have crafted a as fine a shoegaze holiday ‘classic’ as you have ever heard! Fans of ‘80’s college rock, ‘90’s Britpop and ‘60’s harmonies with a (not so) cheery Christmas message take note, the Dirty Sidewalks are a force to be reckoned with. Brothers Erik Foster (lead vocals, guitar) and Evan Foster (lead guitar, vocals & also of The Boss Martians) are sharing this Christmas gift with you in anticipation of their first vinyl 7” single (coming in January 2016) followed shortly thereafter with their debut full-length (Spring) on their own No Count Records. So consider this holiday tune an introduction to the band that unabashedly takes sonic cues from both The Jesus and Mary Chain, Oasis…and Santa.