Saturday, April 27, 2019

"The Motivator"

The Motivators
Cherie Currie & Brie Darling
Photo:
Corey Parks
CHERIE CURRIE & BRIE DARLING
Join Together to Release New Album “The Motivator” - Out August 2

Los Angeles-based, female rock icons, Cherie Currie and Brie Darling have joined together to record their debut album, The Motivator.  The album was produced by the six-time Grammy nominated Dave Darling (Brian Setzer, Stray Cats, Janiva Magness, Tom Waits) and features nine classic covers by bands including T. Rex, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, and John Lennon, plus three powerful new originals, “Too Bruised,” “I’m Too Good, That’s Just Too Bad” and the topical “This Is Our Time.”  The album will be released August 2, 2019 on Blue Élan Records with the title-track, lead single, out  on all streaming services. 
Listen  HERE

The Runaways front-woman and solo artist, Currie, met the Fanny drummer and singer, Darling, in 2017 and immediately connected.  Currie had come in to contribute vocals to Fanny Walked the Earth, a reunion album from the trailblazing Fanny, the first all-female band signed to a major label (Reprise) in 1969.  Though the two musicians were certainly admirers of each other, they had not yet met until that session.  Once connected, the idea to continue collaborating was hatched and soon the idea to record an album was solidified.

It was decided they would record an album of cover songs that resonated with the duo.  The covers chosen mostly share—unintentionally—a socio-political resonance that’s as relevant today as when the songs were written.  “The original album concept was that Brie was going to sing a few, I’d sing a few, and we’d back each other up,” furthers Currie. “But I knew our voices really work well together. On T. Rex’s ‘The Motivator,’ Brie did a great soulful rock scratch vocal but maybe I have more of a tough rock quality to my voice, so I think Dave decided I was going to sing it.  But in my head I heard a duet, me doing the first verse, her on the second verse….and that started the dialog of using our voices together as a concept. Our voices complement each other, so we decided we should share the majority of these songs, because it makes them better.”  Producer Dave Darling says, "It's extremely rare to have two such powerful vocalists in the same band. Cherie's a steam roller and Brie's a flame thrower. That just doesn't happen!"  

Guests on the album include a host of family and friends who came in to do backups, including Currie’s sister, actress Sondra Currie, her ex-husband, actor Robert Hays; friends, Susan Olsen of Brady Bunch fame and actress/director, Allison Scagliotti. Darling’s brother, Henry Berry is on “He Ain’t Heavy”; and brother Phil Berry does a guitar solo on the Kinks tune “Do it Again” while her sister, Rory Berry Bishop plays drums on Thunderclap Newman’s “Something in the Air.” Patti Quatro—Suzi’s sister and a member of Fanny—plays guitar and sings on “For What It’s Worth.”

To listen or purchase “The Motivator,” visit: http://smarturl.it/ccbd-themotivator


Follow Cherie Currie here: Facebook

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Twitter “New” - @CherieandBrie 

Friday, April 26, 2019

Sigma - The Alarm


The Alarm’s New Album“Sigma” Set For June 28th Release

Lead Single & Video For “Blood Red Viral Black” Available Today


SIGMA LXXXV TOUR 2019
Featuring The Alarm, Modern English &
Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel Kicks Off July 17

New Dates Just Added

  The Alarm have confirmed they will release a new album Sigma on June 28th to coincide with their North American summer tour which kicks off July 17 in Nashville, TN.  The band have also released the first song (and video),“Blood Red Viral Black” from Sigma today with Classic Rock magazine premiering the video: https://www.loudersound.com/news/the-alarm-return-with-new-album-and-video-for-the-single-blood-red-viral-black


Sigma is available for pre-order here:  https://thealarm.ffm.to/_sigma
All pre-orders will instantly receive an Instant Grat track of “Blood Red Viral Black” 

Sigma acts as the sequel for 2018’s critically acclaimed EQUALS release and features musical contributions from original Alarm guitarist Dave Sharp and Billy Duffy from The Cult. "It's an honour to have Dave Sharp performing on Sigma", said singer Mike Peters. "Dave was and always will be, part of The Alarm family, and to have him feature on this record is a thrill for all of us and I’m sure, for all the fans too. Billy Duffy of The Cult also makes his mark on guitar just as he did on Equals, and we have been fortunate to have such an incredible talent in the studio with us for a second time. Sigma is the summation of a period of creativity that started out during the initial 'Blood Red Viral Black' project and has continued through Equals towards Sigma. All the albums in this sequence have been defined through symbols and equations included in the cover art and they all add up to this new album Sigma.”


“Having Billy Duffy play guitar with The Alarm has become part of our DNA, “says Peters. “It’s a relationship that goes back to the start of this new century, when the beginnings of new era’s for both The Alarm and The Cult were being formed. Blood Red Viral Black defines our relationship as friends and opposites, human beings united through the colour of sound.”

Click here to watch the latest on The Alarm: https://youtu.be/959jUj-bpBc

The Alarm
Photo:
Andy Labrow
The Sigma LXXXV Tour #sigmatour2019 will showcase a fraternity of alternative British rock bands led by acoustic pioneers The Alarm, post punk auteurs Modern English, and the charismatic Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebelthat will stop by some 40 North American cities, presenting the very best music and ideas from a generation of enduring artists, brought together through a legacy of timeless sound and song. Tickets and information is available at all three bands websites:  www.thealarm.comwww.modernenglish.mewww.genelovesjezebel.co.uk
Throughout the Sigma LXXXV Tour, Love Hope Strength (co-founded by Mike Peters),   will be hosting bone marrow drives at each concert aimed at finding donors for people suffering from Blood Cancer who need a transplant for a second chance at life! The charity has already registered over 200,000 individuals and located some 4,000 plus potentially lifesaving matches. Visit www.lovehopestrength.org for more information.

Alarm fans attending the tour will also be able to enhance their participation at each event, by purchasing EXPERIENCE SIGMA LXXXV TOUR 2019 passes which will allow early entry into the venue for an exclusive pre-show acoustic performance with Mike Peters.

QUOTE FROM MIKE PETERS of The Alarm

"The Sigma Tour will bring out the best that The Alarm has to offer the 21st Century, and along with our friends Modern English and Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel, we look forward to taking part in an event that will hopefully, live long in the memory for all our fans." says Mike Peters. "Our music, which still gets played on the radio every single day, gives us all a platform for creativity that will shine through every second of the Sigma Tour. Fans can expect collaboration, moments of reflection, camaraderie and also the unexpected. The tour will be alive on all the social media platforms allowing fans from around the world to see what it’s like for British bands to be on the road in the USA. Each show will be presented by an in-house MC / DJ and play host to intimate pre-show events that will connect fans to the musicians in a setting away from the spotlight. Up on the main stage every night, The Alarm will be celebrating the release of a new music album entitled Sigma, and honouring the 1985 Strength album reissue that has literally changed and saved lives through Love Hope Strength, the charity which sprang from the intention of the lyrics. The Sigma Tour will look, sound and feel like no other. It's an opportunity for our generations of fans, to make themselves heard, and for us as artists to prove that we are still as relevant as when we first helped shape the musical landscape of America, and when it's citizens looked to British bands for inspiration and alternatives." 

In addition, Mike Peters was recently honored with an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) Award by His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace.  The MBE is one of Britain’s highest honors.  Mike was awarded for his services to charity, having raised thousands for cancer care projects in the UK and abroad and dedicating his life to giving hope for families affected by cancer.

Sigma LXXXV Tour 2019 Dates


July 17                        Nashville, TN              Cannary Row (The Alarm only)
July 19                   Austin, TX                         3Ten Live
July 20                   Dallas, TX                          Gas Monkey
July 21                   Oklahoma City, OK         Tower Theater
July 24                  Las Vegas, NV                  House of Blues
July 25                   San Diego, CA                  House of Blues
July 26                   Temecula, CA                  Wien’s Family Cellars
July 27                   Los Angeles, CA               Microsoft Theater – Music Festival Show
July 31                    Phoenix, AZ                    Celebrity Theatre
August  2               San Francisco, CA           Regency Ballroom
August  3              Sacramento, CA               Ace of Spades
August 5               Portland, OR                     Aladdin
August 6               Seattle, WA                      Triple Door
August 7               Spokane, WA                    Bing Crosby Theater
August 8               Salt Lake City, UT             The Complex (The Alarm/Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel only)
August 9               Denver, CO                       Oriental Theater
August 10            Lawrence, KS                     Liberty Hall
August 12            St. Louis, MO                     Delmar Hall
August 14            Minneapolis, MN              Fine Line
August 15            Milwaukee, WI                  Turner Ballroom
August 16             Chicago, IL                        House of Blues
August 17            Detroit, MI                         St. Andrews
August 18            Cleveland, OH                   House of Blues
August 20            Portland, ME                     AURA
August 21            Boston, MA                        Paradise
August 23            Huntington, NY                  The Paramount
August 24            Jim Thorpe, PA                  Penns Peak
August 25            Falls Church, VA                State Theatre
August 29            Asbury Park, NJ                 Asbury Lanes
August 30            Staten Island, NY               St. George Theater
August 31            Philadelphia, PA                The Keswick Theater
Sept 1                   Norfolk, VA                        Norva
Sept 3                   Charlotte, NC                    Neighborhood Theatre
Sept 4                   Atlanta, GA                        Masquerade
Sept 5                   Orlando, FL                           The Social (The Alarm/Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel only)
Sept 6                  Bonita Springs, FL             Southwest Florida Event Center   Fort Meyers
Sept 7                  Miami, FL                           The Ground at Club Space
Sept 8                  St. Pete, FL                         Ferg’s Concert Courtyard      

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Michael's Musings

I'm Wild Again, Beguiled Again -
Michael Shinafelt
“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, A stately pleasure-dome decree" Samuel Taylor Coleridge 

That's correct minions I am kicking off this Thursday with a quote used in the movie Xanadu starring one of my all time favorites Olivia Newton-John. Not sure why this particular opus is on my mind, I believe it may be in reaction to the world at large. Xanadu is escapist fare all the way, escaping, yeah that's today's ticket...

Surreal Moment of the week: Billy Idol meeting the RHOBH

My gangsta name? Five Speed Douche

Accidental anal hair, discuss...

His breath really smelled, perhaps he ate some ass before Spin Class

I'm watching you, oh yes I am

That can't be the only gorilla suit in Germany!

Crazy Boxing Guy the myth is real

When visiting the super bloom beware of the Wicked Witch of the West

Caught a screening of The Breakfast Club on the rooftop of The Montalban Theater in Hollywood last night. Still a great film!
He's Still Got It @ 63
Billy Idol

Speaking of Billy Idol...with a Rebel Yell, baby!

Don' you forget about me

Beware of dogs with agendas 

Frozen Blueberries - that's all

It's better with a concubine 

Come up to the lab and see what's on my slab at:
https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/MShinafelt   

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Just Because...Cha-Cha-Cha

Cha Cha Cha
Madonna

Just Because it's catchier than you initially think. Just Because of it's dream like quality and Just Because it uses the phrase Cha Cha Cha I present to you Madonna's first single off of her upcoming album Madame X - Medellin.


Honestly upon first listen I was so like WTF?! Then I listened again, and again and the Cha Cha Cha goes on...

She collaborated with Latin star Maluma who is from Medellin, Cha Cha Cha.

When I play it while sipping my black fly free Chardonnay I often feel like I am drifting into a fugue Cha Cha Cha.


But mostly it makes me want Cha Cha Heels for Christmas, for I am Nikki Finn and I will not be denied, Cha Cha Cha.

Madonna on IG -

Monday, April 22, 2019

Monday Motivation

Smell What Michelle Is Cooking!
Michelle Obama
Today's Monday Motivation comes takes on the form of eating healthy. "Yes" like Michelle Obama, practitioner of delectable edibles (say that three times fast.)

OK, I usually do eat healthy otherwise I would not have lost fifty pounds. But I've been really playing fast and loose with my eating habits of late. Thus this week will be a quite disciplined one, I swear by the lemon water I am imbibing at present, right here, right now.

FYI here's a life hack for you, not only is water with fresh squeezed lemon in it delicious, it also burns fat. "Yes" it really does, don't believe me? Look it up, ask your Doctor or anyone versed in nutrition - Michelle Obama knows this factoid I am sure!

Back to the week at hand. It's time to Monday and my Motivation is squarely in place. Translation - I have my menu planned for the week of what I am going to eat and am not veering from it.

Now it's time to conquer the week, meal by meal.

Pardon me, did I hear you say spinach?!

Eating Healthy on Wikipedia -

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Happy Easter & Such

Be Your Own Yolk
Lady Gaga 
Well it's Easter Sunday and it means something to some of you and to others not so much. This being a fact for some reason, well actually for obvious reasons I thought of when Lady Gaga emerged from an egg at The Grammy's

Yeah, those were the days when our Lady of Gaga was doing all sorts of "outrageous" things to get our attention. Me? I always found these shenanigans boring and uninteresting as her music at the time was to me as well.

Well Gaga you've come a long way baby! So this Easter Sunday, whatever it means, or doesn't mean to you. Why not try something different, emerge from your own egg and go fourth and conquer something that you have always wanted to try.

If Lady Gaga can, so can you!

Egg Toss!

Easter on Wikipedia -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter