He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
Been a very busy weekend and I have a lot planned today with my US Census work and getting ready for the sold out Peter Wolf show tonight at St Andrews. My weekend started off at the Motorcity Comic Con. I was only at the event a mere 3 hours but did manage to spend $20 on some hard to find Marvin The Martian toys that I had been looking for. For those that listened to my show last Saturday morning (remember 8-10AM saturdays on WXOU 88.3FM or www.wxou.org) heard a bunch of interviews from some really nice celebrities. I started off with the original Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner who talked about how the TV series has affected her life. She takes pride that the show really touched on women's empowerment issues and was more than just a villain of the week format that was so popular at the time. She also expressive disappointment that the newer show was mostly special effects and didin't get involved in more deeper issues of today. She also is doing experimental workshops and retreats and to find more info on that, you can go to www.lindsaywagnerinternational.com.
Next I spoke with Tia Carrere who was discovered in a supermarket in her native Hawaii and has gone on to fame in movies like "Wayne's World" and "Lilo & Stitch" (of which she is proud showed off her Hawaiian heritage) and the TV series "Relic Hunter". She stated that she was always interested in music first but the acting opportunities came up first. She was happy when she got together with Daniel Ho and started to put out Hawaiian albums of which the she won a Grammy for Best Hawaiian Music Album with her third album 'Ikena'. Her newest album 'He Nani' is coming out this year. This will also make her my band of the week and here are a couple of videos.
Her website for morte info is www.tiacarrere.com.
I also talked briefly with my girl Virginia Hey who I met years ago at a convention in Dearborn (and she remembered me) who is best known for her work as Zhaan on the TV series 'Farscape' as well as roles in "Mad Max 2" and as a bond girl in "The Living Daylights". A truly wonderful person who has been out of acting for a bit because when she moved to sthe states from Australia that because of her age it would be hard to get parts in the states. That seems like crap to me but that was the early 2000's and before 'Desparate Housewives' made a splash. It is such a shame because she is truly a wonderful person and for her age, a real beauty. Outside of her acting career, Hey teaches meditation across the US and is certified in Reiki and natural therapy. White Flower Lei is the company Hey founded, selling an upscale line of soaps and candles. For more information on her, go to www.virginiahey.com and I'm happy to say she is currently working on getting back into show business. You go girl!
Lastly, I talked with martial artist Jim Kelly who worked with Bruce Lee in the movie "Enter The Dragon". When asked how he got into films, he told me he set himself a goal to become an actor which he felt would showcase his skills, make him money and become famous. Well it worked for him as he used his martial arts skills to become a champion martial artist which got him to go out for the role in "Enter The Dragon" and the rest is history. He hasn't appeared in many resent films because he hasn't liked the quality of what has been offered but is a good movie script comes along, he will look into it. He still looks good for a man his age and while he doesn't strike one as the type that could kick your ass, I know he still has the skills. He also mentioned that he is working with a video game company that is doing a fight game with him and Bruce Lee as characters. A lot of gaming fans will probably drool over that. BTW, besides martial arts, Jim was a professional tennis player on the USTA Senior Men's Circuit, appeared with LeBron James in a Nike commercial and successfully competed in basketball, football and track and field in high school.
I also went to the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame benefit last week which rocked along with a wonderful set by Tommy James and the Shondells who is one of my favorite 60's bands as they played for 40 miuntes, including "Crystal Blue Persuasion" and "Crimson And Clover". MC Hammer also rocked the house with some new stuff before ending the show with "2 Legit" and "U Can't Touch This" where he has a stage full of people from the floor sections where all the big money was. Imagine seeing a 60 year old lady (think Betty White) dancing with MC Hammer to that song. Unreal! They had an auction which raised over $200,000 for the Hall with the big items being an opportunity to meet Bono at a U2 show ($24,000) and an internship for Rolling Stone magazine ($19,000) which I belive is how much I made before taxes this year. Maybe I should have auctioned off my services to someone for the year.
I also spent some time at the Hoedown briefly sees the end of Dierks Bentley's set on Fri which was packed as was Sun for Zac Brown Band and the lovely Julianne Hough. They do need to get more bathrooms down at the Hart Plaza. With the long lines, I saw a number of people Sunday doing their business along the back wall and one young girl going under a stair case. Not exactly what you want to see esp if you have kids so they really need to step up the port-o-johns or something. I also got used to the young women forcing their way into the men's restroom which makes it kind of interesting. Anyway, it was still a wonderful night to be on the water and the music sounded great.
For shows to look for this week, I got a few.
Tuesday (5/18) = Reverend Horton Heat w/ Cracker @ Magic Stick
Wednesday (5/19) = Greg Laswell @ Blind Pig, Timmy's Organism opens for Seatle punk band the Spits @ Magic Stick
Thursday (5/20) = ska sensations The English Beat @ Magic Bag, rockers Screaming Females w/ I Crime @ Majestic Cafe
Friday (5/21) = Rick Springfield @ Sound Board Theater @ MotorCity Casino, Seether w/Lacuna Coil @ Fillmore, local girl Tifani Vandenberg plays @ Vernor's Lounge, School Of Rock does Aerosmith @ Eagle Theatre
Saturday (5/22) = Buzzcocks @ St. Andrews Hall, classic rockers Chicago @ Caesars Windsor "The Colosseum", Imogen Heap @ Fillmore, R&B star Maxwell @ Palace of Auburn Hills, School of Rock presents "Ladies of Rock" @ Crofoot Ballroom, Secret Twins open for Sybris @ Majestic Cafe, Taproot @ Hayloft, High Strung CD release party w/ Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr and Macrame Tiger @ Magic Bag
Sunday (5/23) = Japanese instrumental band Mono @ Magic Stick
On Wednesday, the Crofoot has a free show as you can join Superlast at the Crofoot which will be taped for a national tv reality show! They are five experienced Detroit musicians who converged for a studio recording project only to discover a musical energy and chemistry which became a CD release: “American Lunatic”. Might be fun to check out and maybe get your mug on TV.
Don't forget the opera "Tosca" opened up this past weekend and I'll be reviewing it later in the week after I see it Wednesday.
Also, RIP as heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio who was the voice for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, his own band Dio and, most recently, Heaven & Hell, who I saw recently when they opened for Judas Priest, has lost his battle with stomach cancer. He passed away Sunday at 7:45AM. Fans are being encouraged to post condolences on Dio's official Facebook page.