He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
This coming Saturday April 4th @ 8:30am MCB's Kirk and Amy will be guests on "Wild at Heart" talking to Wild Bill about the anti-blog and a bunch of the events going on around town that MCB is helping to promote....also we will spinning a few new local records from Friends of Dennis Wilson and I,Crime so tune and check it out!
Wild At Heart
Win tickets for: Glasvegas who will be at the Magic Stick on Saturday, April 4th.
They are a Scottish alternative rock band whose self-titled debut album has given them a couple of top 20 UK hits with “Geraldine” and “Daddy’s Gone”. Q magazine ranked their album 5th best of 2008. Great band you should check out!
The first person to email me at doramu13@yahoo.com will win the tickets to Glasvegas!
Good luck!
Having been to a few shows where the opening acts have dropped out (Watson Twins for Ben Kweller, Nico Vega for Von Bondies, Alphabeat for Katy Perry) which I find a current trend possibly linked to the cost of touring in today’s climate, I was thinking here we go again when both Poison Arrow and the Cute Lepers failed to show for the Queers show last night. However, Joe (of the Queers) confided that a member of the Cute Lepers died of an OD when given drugs by one of the Poison Arrows. Apparently, the band member took too much (I was told that while a big drinker, he rarely did drugs) and passed away after their Cincinnati show. I had been hearing good things about the band whose future might now be up in the air. Our hearts go out to Travis Criscola who was said to be a really great guy and a talented guitarist.
For movie fans this week, I have a wonderful 3-D animated film, “Monsters Vs Aliens” which starts with lovely Susan getting hit by a meteorite on her wedding day and growing super-sized a la 50ft Womanish. The army captures her and takes her to a secret base and labels her a monster where she meets her fellow mates, BOB (a gelatinous mass), Dr Cockroach (think the Fly), Missing Link (similar to the Creature From The Black Lagoon) and Insectosaurus (a giant grub). Soon after, the Earth is attacked by the evil Gallaxhar who wants to take over the world and it is up to our monsters to save the world and get their freedom. While not quite as good as recent Pixar films, this is still very entertaining with some nice in-jokes for the sci-fi nerds and definitely is one of the few good DreamWorks animated films. This is a good film for the kids which adults should like also and the 3-D effects are pretty subtle after you get past the flashy opening.
My grade is a B-.
A new opera is in town with the production of Donizetti’s “The Elixir Of Love”. This version is updated from the small village to an American town circa 1950’s which brings me to think of the current Rockwell exhibit at the DIA. Nemorino is the local ice cream guy who loves the beautiful Adina though she hates him and is set to marry the local army sergeant. Desperate for any hope of gaining her love comes when a travelling sideshow man Dr Dulcamara selling miracle cures. Thinking to make a buck, the Dr sells Nemorino a bottle of wine which he tells them is a love potion and tells him to wait 24 hours for it to work (so the DR can be long gone). However, the drunken courage helps Nemorino not gush over Adina which peaks her interest. This leaves the following questions such as will Adina break off her marriage with the sergeant and marry Nemorino instead. Go down Apr 4th and find out. Go to www.motopera.com for more info. My grade is an A.
Tune into my show on Saturday when I will have Kirk/Amy on the show promoting some new bands and a live performance by Bayje between 8-10AM this Saturday.
You can listen to this soulful singer on www.wxou.org so make sure to check her out. You can also run into a few of the MCB folks who are exhibiting at the event and I at the movie industry networking event at the Crofoot starting at noon and running until 6PM. With new movie companies coming into Pontiac and downtown Detroit, this is the place to get a feel for what is happening whether an aspiring actor or someone looking to invest in a project. For more info, go to http://www.michiganmovienetwork.com or call Lew Smith at (586) 615-3504 or e-mail to lew@vanirent.com . Hope to see you there!
I am going to quickly rant about the uproar about Bill Ayers talk at OU last Tuesday, which unfortunately I missed. For those who don’t know, Bill Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground in the 1960’s which used some questionable tactics in their protest of the Vietnam War such as blowing up a statue with a bomb. Some people today can only think of him as a terrorist and I think that is short-sighted, esp when you look at the times. For example, why doesn’t anyone say the KK were terrorists when they were hanging young American black men for no reason except to inspire terror? Unlike most KKK members, Ayers has apologized for what he did and admits in hindsight they could have done things different. In the “Real Bill Ayers”, he states simply “The Weather Underground went on to take responsibility for placing several small bombs in empty offices.... We did carry out symbolic acts of extreme vandalism directed at monuments to war and racism, and the attacks on property, never on people, were meant to respect human life and convey outrage and determination to end the Vietnam War.”. His current work has seen him praised as a teacher and getting a Citizen of the Year award in Chicago in 1997 for a public school reform issue. It amazes me that there is backlash against the guy today where people will stop contributing to OU because of his lecture. Universities are about diversity and we all can’t like everybody. To me, not having the guts to book someone like Ayers is a sign of cowardice. If you don’t like Bill, then don’t go to his lecture but don’t stop contributing to a university you love because of this. What about the good things OU has done or doesn’t that mean anything? I am starting to get upset here so let’s talk music.
Here is a look at some upcoming shows of interest. Tues, Mar 31st has Morrissey returning to the Michigan Theatre (did you know he got his start in a punk rock group called the Nosebleeds). Wed, Apr 1st will have rockers Gaslight Anthem paying at St Andrews with the Cincinnati-based country garage rock of the Heartless Bastards. The South American band Bajofondo will be at the Majestic on Thurs, Apr 2nd (look for an interview on my show on Apr 4th between 8-10AM on www.wxou.org ). The Scottish alternative rock band Glasvegas will be at the Magic Stick on Sat, Apr 4th while jazz great Chick Corea will be in Ann Arbor at Hill Auditorium. The Magic Stick will host local rockers the Hentchmen on Sun, Apr 5th while legendary British Folk singer Graham Parker will be playing at Callahan’s.
If you are not interested in the NCAA tournament despite Michigan St making it to the Final Four along with U Conn, Villanova and N Carolina (I’m rooting for Villanova since I am from Big East territory), you can also check out some free NCAA related concerts by the Riverfront. One of my least favorite singers, Jesse McCartney, will be playing with funk/hip hop act N.E.R.D. on Friday while the Pussycat Dolls, Keith Sweat and Gavin DeGraw will provide tunes on Saturday. Sunday is the big day with Staind, Gym Class Heroes and Fergie. I hope the weather brightens up this weekend.
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