He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
Thought I would start off my blog with a call out to all aspiring actors with an ability to play football for the upcoming movie “Touchback”. The plot concerns a former football star at the brink of financial disaster turned farmer and family man who attempts suicide to save his family. However, when he wakes up he finds himself back in the past, reliving the events that led up to his career-ending, life-altering injury and he is forced to choose between his simple life and the path to fame and fortune. Football players are being sought for this picture which will be filmed in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area in early August, 2010. Casting for football players will take place at Wednesday, August 4th and Thursday, August 5th for all pre-registered players interested in trying out. Interested players need to pre-register by creating a profile and submit for “Touchback” at www.sportsstudiocasting.com before August 2nd. PLAYER REQUIREMENTS: Age 18-30 and have extensive football experience. Players should NOT be seeking NCAA eligibility through a college program since selected player positions are paid positions. Sports coordinator Mark Ellis will be conducting the tryouts. Mark has worked on many of the major sports action films of the past 2 decades including “Invincible” “The Longest Yard” and “Miracle”.
Went to some new places this past week for concerts starting with the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies at the Hard Rock Café. They were supposed to play outside but rain delays kept forced them to move indoors. I spent most of my time reading my book (which I finally finished after 2 months) since I had already eaten a big meal before going down to the show. Due to the moving, the show went on about 2 hours later than advertised which caused me to miss Nick Curran at Callahans. Also ran into Sandy who works at the Café store and fronts the local band Velveteen Rabbit who I will showcase as my band of the week with two songs here:
Sandy designs the videos which have an interesting look as well as being a really cool person to talk to. I’ll have to work on getting her on my radio show sometime in the near future. Getting back to the show, the sound at the Hard Rock was surprisingly good and though the crowd wasn’t that huge do the weather but did get some walk-ins from the cancelled Tigers game that night.
Saturday, I went to see the Four Freshmen at the Dirty Dog Jazz Café. Hour magazine named them the best restaurant in Detroit in their last best restaurants issue and I like checking out new and exciting places. The places they pick usually are expensive and this is no exception. Unlike previous picks however, this place features live music so I wanted to pick a show that would be a special event and this weekend saw the vocal group the Four Freshmen at the café. They formed in 1948 and have been continuously touring with their open-harmony jazz arrangements combined with the big band/barbershop quartet sounds. The band members are not the originals but are presided over by one of the original members who makes sure they keep their sound similar to what people remember. This line-up has been together as a unit for 9 years and they have a beautiful sound that is a joy to experience. The sound at the café is nice for an intimate place and I appreciate the owner mentioning prior to the show for patrons to keep their conversations muted during the performances so as not to overpower the bands. Not wanting to spend $55 for a four course meal, I opted for 2 tapas (Spanish for appetizer) since while still expensive, you can’t go to the place voted best restaurant and not get anything. I ordered the Crab Louie (Jumbo lump crab, cilantro, chili dressing, pickled peppers, shoestring potatoes) and Hunter’s Pie (duck, lamb, peas in a pastry shell). The food was excellent though not enough to fill me up. Final bill was $22 and that is without drinks. Overall, this was a very pleasing dining/music experience and maybe the next time I’ll splurge on the whole full course experience. If you go to http://www.metroalive.com/Michigan/grossepointe/dirtydog/, you can see some of the menu items as well as upcoming performers at the club. Nice place to really impress a first date but make sure you bring enough money.
Lastly, I went to the first annual Metro Jazz festival to take in the Jr Walker All-Star Band who was closing out the three day free jazz festival (parking $10) at the southern Campus of Macomb Community College. They had a nice line-up which included Marion Meadows, Spyro Gyra and Mindi Abair. The weather was beautiful and the stage had a nice set up with plenty of seating. I wish the band played more Jr Walker hits and not as much of the Motown review stuff but they did perform "Shake And Fingerpop" as well as ending the show with “Shotgun”. Jazz Festivals are becoming even more popular in this area with some really great shows coming up including 29th Annual Flint Jazz Festival (Aug 6th-8th) with Jon Secada, 9th Annual River Raisn Jazzfest (Aug 14th-15th) with Alexander Zonjic and David Sanborn and the Detroit International Jazzfest (Sept 3rd-6th) with Yellowjackets, Allen Toussaint and Branford Marsalis to name the bigger events. If you like jazz, this has been a great summer with a number of big artists coming through.
Speaking of upcoming shows, here are a few suggestions:
Tuesday (7/27) – Natalie Merchant @ Michigan Theatre (does afternoon appearance at noon @ Borders Bookstore in Downtown Ann Arbor), local favs Zoos Of Berlin @ Majestic Cafe Stick
Wednesday (7/28) – John Mayer w/ Train @ Pine Knob, The Maine @ Eagle Theatre, the Juliets open for Pomegranates @ Pike Room
Thursday (7/29) – country legends Brooks & Dunn @ Pine Knob
Friday (7/30) – Al Green @ Caesar’s Windsor Casino, Chris Isaak @ Hill Auditorium (Ann Arbor), LA Guns opens for Faster Pussycat @ Harpos, David Allen Coe plays Midwest Motorcycle Fest @ Pontiac Silverdome, Blue Oyster Cult plays “Rockin On the Riverfront” @ REN Center, Vans Warped Tour (with Reel Big Fish, Casualties and Face To Face) @ Comerica, Ween @ Royal Oak Music Theatre, The Sights and Pop Project @ Magic Bag
Saturday (7/31) – Dead Weather @ Fillmore, Kings Of Leon w/Built To Spill @ Pine Knob, Laith Al Saadi @ Magic Bag, Motorcity Special #2 featuring the Beggars, Black Lodge, Jesus Chainsaw Massacre, etc @ Pike Room, Phonotropic’s Wicked Awesome Musical Safari w/ Lettercamp, Jessica Hernandez and Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr @ Crofoot
Sunday (8/01) – Beach Boys @ Pine Knob, bluesman Guitar Shorty @ Callahan’s
Monday (8/02) – Eric Church w/Randy Houser @ Monroe County Fair
I’ll be back midweek for a movie review of “City Of Your Final Destination” and pictures from the 32nd Annual Concours D’Elegance which put on another incredible show this year.