Barenaked Ladies - This Summer

BARENAKED LADIES

2015 LAST SUMMER ON EARTH TOUR
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
VIOLENT FEMMES AND COLIN HAY
TOUR LAUNCHES ON JUNE 5^TH IN COLUMBUS, OH

It's Summertime, let's get naked! Barenaked! Oh Yes!

BARENAKED LADIES will be heading back out on the road this summer for their 2015 Last Summer on Earth Tour. Joined by special guests Violent Femmes and Colin Hay of Men At Work, the Ladies are once again recreating their winning formula with performances in 30+ amphitheaters across the country. Tour kicks off on June 5 ^th in Columbus, OH and wraps on July 26 ^th in Seattle, WA. Tickets go on sale as early as Friday, February 13 ^th at 10am local time in select markets and every tour date will have VIP upgrade packages available. See full list of tour dates below.  For updates and more information visit www.barenakedladies.com. 
 
Ed Robertson states , "It's the Last Summer On Earth... Again!  It's not a doomsday prediction; it's a call to action. We sincerely hope this won't be the Last Summer on Earth, but just in case, we're going to ROCK like it is!!"
 
The 2015 Last Summer on Earth Tour coincides with the release of the band’s, as yet untitled, new album due out on Vanguard Records later this summer. Fans that purchase tickets to the 2015 Last Summer on Earth Tour will instantly receive one track from the new album and a digital download of the full album upon release.
 
BARENAKED LADIES featuring  (guitarist/vocalist Ed Robertson, bassist/vocalist Jim Creeggan, keyboardist/vocalist Kevin Hearn and drummer/vocalist Tyler Stewart) have sold over 14 million albums worldwide and have won eight Juno awards and earned multiple Grammy nominations.  Known for such hits as “One Week,” “Pinch Me, “Brian Wilson,” “If I Had $1,000,000” and many more, the band also penned the theme song for the hit CBS series, “The Big Bang Theory.” Their latest album, Grinning Streak, debuted at #10 on the Billboard Top 200.  The album’s breakout success showcased the single “Odds Are,” which shot to No. 2 on the iTunes Rock Songs Chart. The Barenaked Ladies live shows have become legendary with their hilarious on-stage banter and impromptu raps.

THE BARENAKED LADIES – 2015 LAST SUMMER ON EARTH TOUR
5-Jun-15 – Columbus, OH @ The LC Pavilion
6-Jun-15 – Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
7-Jun-15 – Toledo, OH @ Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre
8-Jun-15 – Cedar Rapids, IA @ McGrath Amphitheatre
10-Jun-15 – Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
12-Jun-15 – Red Wing, MN @ Treasure Island Resort & Casino Island Events Center
13-Jun-15 – Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Pavilion
14-Jun-15 – Council Bluffs, IA @ Stir Cove at Harrah’s Council Bluffs
16-Jun-15 – Chicago, IL @ FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
17-Jun-15 – Indianapolis, IN @ Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park
19-Jun-15 – Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion
20-Jun-15 – Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
21-Jun-15 – Salamanca, NY @ Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino
23-Jun-15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
26-Jun-15 – Portland, ME @ Maine State Pier
27-Jun-15 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
28-Jun-15 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Mann Center for the Performing Arts
29-Jun-15 – Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
1-Jul-15 – New York, NY @ JBL Live at Pier 97
2-Jul-15 – West Windsor, NJ @ Mercer County Park Festival Grounds 
3-Jul-15 – Solomons, MD @ PNC Waterside Pavilion
4-Jul-15 – Raleigh, NC @ The Red Hat Amphitheatre
8-Jul-15 – Charlotte, NC @ Uptown Amphitheatre at the Music Factory
10-Jul-15 – Boca Raton, FL @ Sunset Cove Amphitheatre
11-Jul-15 – St. Augustine, FL @ St Augustine Amphitheatre
12-Jul-15 – Atlanta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
13-Jul-15 – Nashville, TN @ Woods at Fontanel
15-Jul-15 – Dallas, TX @ Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
17-Jul-15 – Albuquerque, NM @ Venue TBD
18-Jul-15 – Las Vegas, NV @ Boulevard Pool at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
19-Jul-15 – San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union OAT
21-Jul-15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
22-Jul-15 – Saratoga, CA @ Mountain Winery
24-Jul-15 – Boise, ID @ Idaho Botanical Garden
25-Jul-15 – Portland, OR @ Edgefield
26-Jul-15 – Seattle, WA @ Marymoor Amphitheatre 

My Quick Take On The Grammy's

Annie Lennox - Queen of the Night 

Opening with AC/DC pleased this Rock N Roll dudes heart, yes, it truly is a Highway To Hell people! 

While I was a huge Madonna fan once that was so Confessions On A Dance Floor ago.

Madonna so sucked last night it was like a vacuum on it's last legs - I am over gay men who are drooling over her performance. (hey being one I have a lot of them on my Facebook page, so this is first hand experience.)

Annie Lennox was IT last night, she had the last werd! 

Have loved her since the Eurythmics and all of her solo work is bomb! 

Although Hozier is very talented I was annoyed and over hearing his song Take Me To Church. My spin instructor has been playing it every class for the last 3 months, I go Saturday and Sunday, do that math!

Note to Kanye West, quit always defending Beyonce you jackhole. She was tre' boring last night. If people weren't already asleep by the end of the show, they sure would have dozed off then. 

Taylor Swift, quit getting down, white girl you have no rhythm and it's uncomfortable when the camera cuts to you and you pretend to. 

Katy Perry is a lovely and gracious loser.

Congratulations Sam Smith, the appeal is lost on me.

Love Beck, but I did not even know he had an album out last year.

Jessi J. & Tom Jones, that was cool. Not a show stealing performance like Annie Lennox, but fifty shades of cool none the less.

Pentatonix so glad you won, you deserved it for your Daft Punk medley.

Yeah, I'm done, I said it was a quick take, capice? 

Until next year!

Grammy's: Tonight's The Night

Alright everyone as you all must know by now because of the media blitz tonight is Grammy night and I don't mean your Dad or your Mom's Mother. It's the music equivalent of the film biz's Oscars...coming soon BTW.

There will be many cool performances tonight including Superbowl darling Katy Perry, Madonna, Adam Levine + Gwen Stefani and many more!

There will also be a performance from super group and fan favorite Pentatonix for the award show. PTX as fans call them are also nominated in the category of Best Arrangement, Instrumental, or A Cappella for their Daft Punk Medley.

Have a rockin' and rollin' time whatever your Grammy plans, and go Penatatonix!

Go Grammy at: http://www.grammy.com/

The Python - Lawrence v Kinski, Who Wore It Best?

Nastassja Kinski's Iconic Photo: Richard Avedon

A photo of one of my favorite contemporary actresses, Jennifer Lawrence paying homage to another one of my favorite actresses Nastassja Kinski iconic photo by Richard Avedon of her with a python recently surfaced in the Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue.

Nastasja starred in a lot of great films in the late 70's to mid 80's such as Roman Polanski's Tess, Frances Ford Coppola's One From The Heart and three of my favorite movies ever Tony Richardson's The Hotel New Hampshire, Wim Wender's Paris Texas & Paul Scrader's Cat People.

She was the Jennifer Lawrence of her time, working with prolific filmmakers of her time and doing some amazing work. BTW Kinski was Oscar nominated for Tess even though she has never won the statue.

Jennifer Lawrence's Homage Photo: Patrick Dermarchelier

Cut to the now. Ms. Jennifer Lawrence a wonderful Academy Award winning actress who has an amazing accessibility about her. From her breakthrough role in Debra Granik's Winter's Bone (her first Oscar nomination) to Oscar win for David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook. OK and I guess if I must mention it, The Hunger Games series.

It seems only fitting that Ms. Lawrence would end up wearing a python in a photo by Patrick Dermarchelier in a homage to Kinski.

So who wore the python best?

For this writer it's a toss up, your thoughts?

Jennifer on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2225369/?ref_=tt_cl_t2
Nastassja on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/find?ref_=nv_sr_fn&q=nastassja+kinski&s=nm

Tonight Show: Saved By The Bell Reunion

Yay! The Gang Is Reunited!

Alright I admit it, I am a Saved By The Bell nerd...I remember being in Las Vegas with my friend Karen Castricher coming back to our room at the Excalibur after a night on the town and staying up the rest of it watching a marathon of SBTB on TV

Now that is what I call hardcore!

Well the students of Bayside High reunited on the Tonight Show recently and added a familiar face to the gang, Jimmy Fallon. Fallon has been filming his New York City-based late-night show in L.A. all week, and on Wednesday, he aired a Saved by the Bell sketch featuring several of its cast members. "Not many people know this, but I actually went to high school out here," Jimmy said. "I remember it like it was yesterday."

Turning back time to the 90's Jimmy joined his pals Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen), A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez) and Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley) and told his classmates about his dreams of starring on Saturday Night Live and going on a date with Nicole Kidman. 

The sketch was fun and this nerd was happy to see the cast together again. Check it out below!

What happens late at night never stays there at:

http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show

Jessi Teich Has A "Twisted Soul"

I had the extreme pleasure of interviewing the mega talented Jessi Teich recently. Her upcoming album which she recorded in Paris, Twisted Soul is due March 3rd and it's amazing!

Not familiar with her? Well let's get acquainted with the Jazz aficionado...it's time to know more about Ms. Jessi Teich!

JT: Hi Michael, this is Jessi Teich

MS: You and I were just in a Twitter frenzy.

JT: Yeah, that's exactly what was happening. (both laugh)

MS: I really loved Twisted Soul and the fact that you were Magna Cum Laude from the Berklee College of Music was not a real shocker.

JT: Awwwwwwww, Thank you. It's such a nice thing putting something out there that people respond to in a positive way. It means so much, it's great!

MS: The music biz is so up in the air it's the more unique artists that seem to be catching on.

JT: I tried to make this album accessible as far as the musicality of it. I know with jazz it's really easy to go into an eight minute solo...Not everyone wants to geek out on jazz. (laughs) People like simple music, I like simple music. I gravitated towards that with the album, I think it's a great marriage between jazz and simplicity. 

MS: Twisted Soul is described as "Poperatic." 

Jessi Hitting The Keys

JT: The story of it is autobiographical. Actually the booklet that is coming with the CD, each song is going to be presented as a chapter in the story and I do a little narration in each song. It's in third person, between a male and female character. This is all based on a previous relationship I was in which was emotionally abusive. The CD talks about how I was in the relationship, how I was able to break free from the relationship and how I was able to succeed in finding my own way, my own voice and emerging victorious. This is a very positive way in dealing with a terrible situation.

MS: I love your quote about "vomiting crazy emotions" out of yourself.

JT: (both laugh) I'm always afraid I'm going to gross people out when I say that, but it's true! It's like I am purging myself of these crazy feelings. It feels like vomiting, it's weird. (laughs)

MS: Yeah, it's like when I write. Something comes out that's so loopy I keep it because it's so cool.

JT: Yeah, it's you, it's unique. I think that is what people graft onto in this day and age. They want you the person, not you this unattainable artist. They want to be able to relate to you somehow. That is part of the reason I chose not to remain silent about my situation, not only does it help me, but I feel like it could help a lot of people, feeling they could live through this and get through something horrible.

MS: What I find interesting when artists do speak about these things is, it's not going to stop it. But it will help people.

JT: If I can benefit one person, I've done my job. When I was going through the worst of it, I really grappled onto who else has been in a similar situation to me. One things I did was I called one of the abuse hot lines. I talked to them about my options and protection and what I could do...because I was very scared. When I was able to reach out to somebody else, people that knew how to deal with situations like that I felt like I had a community. It was an amazing feeling. 

MS: You also had to overcome a cyst on your vocal chord.

JT: That was pretty intense. I was diagnosed with a cyst on my right vocal chord a few years ago. It was something that really kind of jilted me into reality, like oh my gosh! I might not be able to pursue my music career. When I was diagnosed I was teaching forty vocal lessons a week, eating pretty much what I wanted. I questioned myself first, and I asked my vocal therapist: is it me or my technique? She said: No absolutely not, this happens when you overuse your voice. I did everything I could for a while, speech therapy, singing therapy, changed my diet, everything that could be a trigger and the cyst went down about fifty percent, but it didn't go away so that's when I decided to have the surgery. But before the surgery, you're going to laugh at this, I still went to work and carried around a white board and wrote everything down, people did not know what to do with me. People thought I was deaf or mute, they thought I didn't speak English, even though I had a name tag and a white board that said: Hi my name is Jessi Teich and I'm on vocal rest. (both laugh) It really opened my eyes to how important your voice is. The only other universal language other than music is a smile, so I just smiled a lot, people were like: OK she's happy even though she's not talking (both laugh)

MS: It's interesting to me that you covered Justin Timberlake's Cry Me A River.

Jazz Baby

JT: Yes. I grew up listening to Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin...My Dad had this amazing vinyl collection. I still was a child of the 90's and I listened to Justin Timberlake, he was on the radio, he was my guilty pleasure. It seemed to fit the album. I've always liked covering pop in a very different way. 

MS: When I first saw the song on your album, given your background. I thought it was a cover of the Arthur Hamilton version.

JT: Oh yeah the jazz standard. I think I have been throwing a few people for a loop, because they expect that. Then they hear Justin Timberlake  and they're like whaaaaaaat?! (laughs) 

MS: Throwing people for a loop is a good idea I think.

JT: I do too, and I do it on a daily basis anyway, why not do it on my album? 

MS: I loved your poetry on the title track of Twisted Soul. 

JT: Thank you. I could literally sit down with you and go through every line of that song, and really any song on the entire album, it all means something. Every lyric is prepared for a very specific reason. There are long and short stories behind each song. The album was so cathartic and so therapeutic, to write these songs and get them out in the world. I appreciate your compliments, it's so nice for me to get them out of my system. 

MS: You really love jazz, touch on that some before we say goodbye.

JT: Some of my greatest music teachers were Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington...I grew up listening to these women. Here I am this little white girl, so cool, all my friends are like: I listen to Brittney Spears, I listen to Christine Aguilera. I'm like: I listen to Billie Holiday. (both laugh) They would all look at me like: Who's Billie? (laughs) who is he?! I was such a different kind of kid I really walked to my own beat. 

Walk to your own beat with Jessi Teich at:
www.jessiteich.com
www.youtube.com/jessiteich
www.facebook.com/jessiteichmusic
www.twitter.com/jessiteich

Lindsay Lohan "Sorta" Mom

Lindsay Lohan: "I'm Sorta Your Mom"

Look, on the road! It's a beat up car, a reckless driver...Yes! It's Lindsay Lohan "Sorta" Mom!

The Notorious LL sent her image up in a funny commercial for Esurance during the Superbowl.

Ms. Lohan who was arrested for a DUI in May 2007 comes tearing down the street in a banged up mini van and attempts to pick up two kids in the ad that is geared toward the company's CoverageMyWay plan.

Kick off your week with a little fun and check out the commercial below...

Happy Monday!

   
Check Out Lindsay Where It's Safe, Online at:
http://instagram.com/lindsaylohan
https://twitter.com/lindsaylohan