Wild At Heart
Wild At Heart – June 10th / midweek supplemental
A lot of things going on so I couldn’t wait until Monday to write my column so here is a brief recap of some things that have gone on this week. Tuesday was a big day for me as a started off the day by the pool just taking in the sun. It seems that we can now have a few nice days without worrying about getting hit by lightning which is always a good thing. I don’t mind the occasional rain storm but every day!! Of course it looks like we’ll get some fun weather Friday and Saturday so bring your raincoats and umbrellas.
From there I went to the Crofoot where I got to interview Teddy Geiger who happens to be from my hometown of Rochester, NY. Teddy Geiger is an musician who had a small hit in 2006 with “For You I Will (Confidence)" and appeared in half the episodes of the wonderful TV show nobody watched – ‘Love Monkey’. He put on a great show to tons of screaming kids (and sponsored by Covergirl???) though we got to talk about his upcoming movie “The Rocker” which should open this weekend. It stars Rainn Wilson (Dwight on Office Space who I will be interviewing next week) and Christina Applegate and in a nutshell = musician Robert "Fish" Fishman (Rainn) is fired from Vesuvius, a fictional '80s hair band (think Spinal Tap) at the cusp of their making it big. The movie follows him as he gets a second chance at fame when he joins his nephew’s garage band for their prom gig. A ‘youtube’ video makes them stars and they hit the road with fun results. While the promos look kind of bland, the movie is actually a great film for music lovers (look for a cameo by Pete Best). Geiger says the cast learned to play their instruments which shows in the movie and Geiger’s vocals are pretty cool. If you missed him at the Crofoot, you can get the opportunity to meet him in Philadelphia by going to the website wwww.alloy.com/therocker. Also, you can go to his website teddygeiger.com and listen to his 33 new songs. Basically he has written a bunch of new tunes, some for himself and some the record company wanted him to write. You can listen to the songs and vote for your favorites. The top 11 songs will become his new album so this is a great chance Geiger fans to tell him and his record label what you want to hear.
After that, I went to the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham and caught up with actor Robert Gossett (cousin of Lou Gossett Jr and one of the stars of TNT’s hit series “The Closer”). First of all, the rooms in the Townsend are beautiful and now I know why celebrities coming through town stay their. The Cleveland Indians were there the day we did the interview. Anyway, he plays Commander Taylor who is the sometimes nemesis of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (played by Kyra Sedgwick). The show revolves around her being brought into the LAPD as the head of the newly formed Priority Homicide Division. Taylor resents an outsider getting the job he thinks he should have had and tries to make her life difficult. Of course, by season 4 which is premiering July 14th, he has come to respect her but he was a great foil in the first 2 seasons (I haven’t seen season 3 yet). Gossett says the cast is wonderful (as shown by a couple a Screen Actor Guild nominations for ensemble cast) and that they frequently get together for barbecues etc. Gossett says the theme of the new season is ‘power’ and it’s various incarnations. The premiere deals with a case of pyromania which causes the death of 4 individuals and an old threat returns to help Brenda solve the case. One of the great things about the show me and Gossett agree on is that the show really focuses on relationship and the quirks of the detectives. They also downplay (or really don’t have ) gun play and car chases for a more thinking person’s show. Check out this series if you haven’t. You don’t really need to have seen previous episodes to get into the first episode of Season 4. Coincidentally, Gossett will be playing a drummer in the upcoming movie “Flying By” concerning a real estate developer who decides to rejoin in his high school rock band after 25 years which puts his marriage and business at risk. I
should get him and Rainn together for a celebrity drum off.
Later that night I went to see Alkaline Trio (I also like their new album) at Clutch Cargo’s and they rocked out. Other cool albums out now include “The Boy bands Have Won” by Chumbawamba, “O” by Tilly And The Wall, “Lay It Down” by Al Green and “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth” by My Brightest Diamond.
So now to Wednesday! As proof that one should stop at those booth’s at the various festivals and fill out those forms, I got a free buffet at the Palette so I checked it out. Now Wednesday is seafood night and they had crab legs. Lots of crab legs! Tons of crab legs! I ate a few dozen along with a few other things. I think this is the best of the casino buffets though the old Casino Windsor was pretty good (I have to check them out agin now that they are Caesar’s). It is expensive but it is worth it with a fancy salad bar, one of the best area dessert bars and areas dedicated to seafood, southern cooking, meats and Chinese food. Take a lady and impress. If is seafood night though, you might want to wait for a second night since you don’t want the ladies thinking you are a pig.
I then went over to the Fox Theatre to see Van Morrison who put on a great show including hits Domino and Wild Nights. However, despite being musically sound, a lot of people were disappointed that the show was only an hour and a half long and that “Brown-Eyed Girl” wasn’t part of the set. Considering the cost of tickets, I always expect an artist with no opening act to play at least 2 hours. However, this did allow me to catch the last 2 ½ innings of the Indians/Tigers game. As I was walking towards Comerica a lot of sad looking fans were walking out (at this time they were down 6-1). As we heard some cheers, one fan turned around and said “I hope they don’t win now”. I assume he was referring to the fact that he was thinking he would miss a great comeback by leaving early and not that he didn’t want the Tigers to win if they could. When I got to the side fence, I saw that it was 6-3 (soon to be 6-4 and 6-6) so I stuck around outside and watched what I could of the Tigers wonderful 8-6 win (and sweep) of Cleveland. That is why you don’t leave games early. Losers!!! Good luck versus the Twins this week.
I am looking forward to Friday, despite the potential for rain. The APBA Boat races are this weekend down at Belle Isle which I want to check out (I have already seen the air races down there and later next month is the car races). Afterwards, I (and WXOU and motorcityblog) will be at the Crofoot for PHONOTROPIC'S WICKED AWESOME BBQ'D MUSICAL SAFARI with Manna & Quail, the Yachts, Prussia and more so come down and support some local music and artist and one of the nicest new music venues in town. Also, don’t forget Al Green at Freedom Hill. The guy is a legend.
And how about good old Jesse Jackson! He was caught unaware by an open microphone during a break for a Fox News program last Sunday was caught using a slang reference to wanting to cut off Obama's testicles. I wonder if Al Sharpton will go after him like he did Imus for being racist! The funny thing is that Jesse is a Obama supporter. Gotta love politics! PS, Jesse remember Hymietown? I'm proud to be a new Yorker!!
Lastly, I just want to thank everyone for naming their kids after me. Comparing the top 10 boys names from the 1950's to this year, only 2 names are on both lists. Michael moved up 2 notches from 4 to 2 while William dropped from 6 to 8 but we're still hanging strong. I take credit where it isn't due just because I can!!
