By Bob Andelman

Richard Minsky's book art knows no bindings! (Video Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:37:32 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Amazon Kindle fans who can’t figure out what the big deal about book art might be… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

Richard Minsky's book art will blow your mind! (Interview) from Bob Andelman on Vimeo.

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Order 'The Book Art of Richard Minsky' by clicking the book cover above

Quite frankly, I’m way out of my usual comfort zone with today’s guest, book artist Richard Minsky.

Minsky is such a specialized artist that today may be the first and only time you’ll ever see his one-of-a-kind work up close and almost personal. Of course, he’d really like it if you checked out the just published collection of his work accompanied by his autobiography, The Book Art of Richard Minsky.

RICHARD MINSKY audio excerpt: "The glove I used on The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson? It's an illustration in some ways of the American legal system. Whether it's use or abuse, it's up to the individual reader to decide."

MM-RichardMinsky011912.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with artist RICHARD MINSKY, author of THE BOOK ART OF RICHARD MINSKY, by clicking the audio player above!

How to describe Minsky’s art? Maybe by example:

• For a celebration of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four, he constructed a bookbinding with an LCD monitor built into the leather cover and a miniature video camera hidden within. Hold the book in front of you and you see yourself on the cover. Spooky.

• The Geography of Hunger is encased by what looks like human teeth. Message received, right?

• A collection of works by poet Patti Smith, titled Babel, is held together with safety pins, the symbol of the early punk movement.

• One more: For the jacket of a copy of writer Jeffrey Toobin’s The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson, Minsky mounted a leather glove on the cover, its fingertips dripping with blood.

For more examples, check out the slideshow at Minsky.com.

I don’t know where this conversation is headed. But I do know that few of us has ever met an artist and craftsman as unique as my guest today.

Richard Minsky Website • Facebook • Twitter • Wikipedia • Order The Book Art of Richard Minsky

Bob Andelman is the author or co-author of 12 books, including Mind Over Business with Ken Baum, The Consulate with Thomas R. Stutler, The Profiler with Pat Brown, Built From Scratch with the founders of The Home Depot, The Profit Zone with Adrian Slywotzky, Mean Business with Albert J. Dunlap, and Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Click here to see Bob Andelman's Amazon Central author page. He is a member in good standing of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (member page).

Tonight on NBC's Whitney: Hayes MacArthur is a douche! (Audio Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:04:34 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of diehards who believe that one day, Kyle Bornheimer will be the king of all sitcoms… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Olivia Munn and Hayes MacArthur on NBC's late, lamented "Perfect Couples"

I like to think we all have love affairs with TV shows that the networks gave up on way too soon.

For me, the list began building back in the 1960s with “It’s About Time” and continues all the way to the last few seasons when I qvelled about the cancellations of “Worst Week,” “Outsourced” and “Perfect Couples.”

Those were some damn funny shows!

HAYES MacARTHUR audio excerpt: "I play a douchey character on 'Whitney'. He's one of those guy who wears a knit cap even when it's not cold out. He does slam poetry. Whitney is not down with any of those things."

MM-HayesMacArthur020812.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with actor HAYES MacARTHUR, guest star on NBC's WHITNEY, by clicking the audio player above!

And two of those last three starred the same pair of wonderful comedic actors, Kyle Bornheimer and Hayes MacArthur.

On “Worst Week,” MacArthur played Bornheimer’s perfect brother-in-law – perfectly conniving that is. And on “Perfect Couples,” they were the husbands in two of three couples presented on the show, which was clever, innovative and given up on way too soon. Damn you, network programmers!

: To order the best sitcom ever, "Worst Week," click the DVD cover above

Anyway, it’s not like MacArthur ever lacks for work. This week, he guests stars on an episode of NBC’s “Whitney” tonight, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. He’s also appeared recently in episodes of ABC’s “Happy Endings” and “Suburgatory.”

First, here’s some trivia: a former standout college quarterback, MacArthur was named for actress Helen Hayes. Even more important, he married actress Ali Larter in August 2009. That’s important because in June of that year, she was a guest… on Mr. Media!

Ali Larter on Mr. Media • Kyle Bornheimer on Mr. Media

More "Whitney" cast interviews with Mr. Media:

Maulik Pancholy • Zoe Lister-Jones • Chris D'Elia

The Accio Actors present: TREK (Trailer)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:35:18 PST

If you missed "Trek The Musical" this weekend at the Studio @ 620, click the video below for a little taste of what you missed. (And here's a hint: that's my daughter Rachel Jeanie Chekov Andelman in the forefront of the screen capture below. She danced and sang as a sexy crewwoman in the first act and returned in the second as Ensign Chekov.) Watch for the entire show to be on YouTube later this month!

Smash comes to NBC, brings musical Shrek with it! (Audio Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:40:25 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of cutthroat singers, dancers and actors who could crush the dreams of any of the “Glee” kids with just a look… in the NEW new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

: The cast of Smash: Pictured: (l-r) Brian d'Arcy James as Frank Houston, Jaime Cepero as Ellis, Anjelica Huston as Eileen Rand, Jack Davenport as Derek Wills, Katharine McPhee as Karen Cartwright, Megan Hilty as Ivy Lynn, Debra Messing as Julia Houston, Christian Borle as Tom Levitt, Raza Jaffrey as Dev Sundaram (Photo by: Mark Seliger/NBC NBC; the show airs Mondays at 10 p.m.)

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Brian d'Arcy James as Frank Houston on NBC's new musical drama, "Smash" (Photo by: Mark Seliger/NBC)

If it’s February, it’s finally time for NBC’s much awaited adult response to Fox’s high school musical series.

When “Smash” premieres tonight, it will bring to the small screen one of the most anticipated shows in years. The hype around this Steven Spielberg-produced show is tremendous, but the early reviews have been remarkably good.

BRIAN d'ARCY JAMES audio excerpt: "It's not a stretch to say we're all of this (Broadway) world."

MM-BriandArcyJames020612.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with actor BRIAN d'ARCY JAMES, star of NBC's SMASH, by clicking the audio player above!

That’s good for the cast, which includes former American Idol discovery Katharine McPhee and Hollywood royalty Anjelica Huston. It’s also promising for the last-place network, which could seriously stand a little stardust to land on its faded peacock feathers.

Joining me today is actor Brian d’Arcy James. On “Smash,” he plays Frank, husband of Julia, who is played by Debra Messing, late of “The Starter Wife” and “Will & Grace.”

Brian may not be a familiar face to TV viewers, but he has a lengthy list of film and Broadway credentials, including a 2009 Tony nomination for his starring run as Shrek in “Shrek the Musical.” He won the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama Desk Award for the same role.

Brian d'Arcy James Website • Twitter • Facebook • YouTube • Official 'Smash' website on NBC • Order CD From Christmas Eve to Christmas Morn

: To order 'From Christmas Eve to Christmas Morn' by Brian d'Arcy James, click the image above

Olympic skater Sasha Cohen: "Ice is fickle"! (Audio Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:05:30 PST

Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC)

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

Here’s something not everyone interviewing Olympic ice skater Sasha Cohen can say:

She’s quoted on the front cover of my new book.

It’s true: When Mind Over Business hits book shelves on March 6, there is a quote above the title from Sasha, who worked with my co-author Ken Baum in preparing for her legendary appearance and subsequent Silver Medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

SASHA COHEN audio excerpt: "In ice skating you have one chance every four years at the Olympics -- and it's only a few minutes. You just have to do your best to believe in yourself."

MM-SashaCohen020312.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with Olympic ice skater SASHA COHEN, star of PANDORA UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS OF LOVE ON ICE, by clicking the audio player above!

And within the pages of the book, Ken tells the story of their months of training for the big moment and how Sasha used her mental edge to get up from a fall and give the performance of a lifetime.

Of course, she also wrote her own book, Fire On Ice.

: Ice Skater Sasha Cohen (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC)

Ken thinks the world of Sasha so when the opportunity to help promote her appearance this Saturday, February 4, in the “Pandora Unforgettable Moments of Love on Ice” on NBC, I jumped at the chance. You can see the special – which also includes performances by Katerina Gordeeva, Ilia Kulik and Kurt Browning and is hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi & Nancy Kerrigan – at 4 p.m. on NBC.

Sasha Cohen Website • Twitter • Order Fire On Ice

Comics legend Howard Chaykin nominated for Will Eisner Hall of Fame! (2006 Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:50:19 PST

(Editor's Note: Comic book artist and writer Howard Chaykin, perhaps best known for his work on Blackhawk and his creator owned project, American Flagg, is one of 14 nominees for the 2012 Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame to be announced in July at Comic-Con International in San Diego, Ca. Bob Andelman interviewed Chaykin in June 2006 for the official website of his biography, Will Eisner: A Spirited Life, and thought it might be of interest to Mr. Media readers who missed it back then.

There are also two Mr. Media interviews by Andelman with another Eisner HoF nominee, the lovely Trina Robbins. You can read those HERE (The Brinkley Girls) and HERE (GoGirl!).

More information on all 14 nominees can be found by clicking here. Online voting is now open. To vote, you must be a professional working in the comics or related industries, as a creator (writer, artist, cartoonist, colorist, letterer), a publisher an editor, a retailer (comics store owner or manager), a graphic novels librarian, or a comics historian/educator. Eligible voters can visit www.eisnervote.com to register and then select up to four picks in the Hall of Fame category. The deadline for voting is March 25.)

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: 2012 Will Eisner Comics Award Hall of Fame nominee Howard Chaykin with Eisner biographer Bob Andelman, photographed at MegaCon in Orlando, 2006

One of the interesting facets of writing Will Eisner's biography was determining the reliability of my subject's memory.

Eisner was 85 when I met him in February 2002 and, with repeated exposure over the next almost three years, I came to believe his mind and recall were easily as sharp as mine -- and I was half his age.

There were only a few stories that Eisner told me that gave me pause over that time, tales that didn't quite add up with independent confirmation. One of them was about an encounter he had with artist Howard Chaykin at a Barcelona comic book convention.

When I was dubious about his account, Eisner told me to call his old friend Joe Kubert. "Joe will confirm what I'm telling you," he insisted.

So I called Kubert, who got his first job working for Eisner at his studio in Manhattan's Tudor City in 1941. Kubert told me a lot of great stories, but he didn't exactly recall the Barcelona incident the same way that Eisner did. Here's the way I wrote it for draft of Will Eisner: A Spirited Life:

Eisner told a story about attending a comic book convention in Barcelona several years ago. He and several prominent artists, including Howard Chaykin and Joe Kubert, were talking about different comics. Chaykin mentioned "Blackhawk," which he once illustrated.

"Will created 'Blackhawk,'" someone said.

"It was one of the few fascistic things I've done in my life," Will said.

"Fascist?" Chaykin said. "I'm one of the most liberal guys you'll ever meet!"

Eisner, as gentle and amiable as he was about most things, on occasion antagonized a fellow artist and this was one of those times. Chaykin felt Eisner was calling him a fascist and it made him quite angry.

"It looked like it was gonna get into a fistfight," Eisner said. "Joe Kubert finally separated us."

Sounds like a great anecdote. And across two years of being interviewed for this book, Will told many stories that were confirmed down to the final detail. But in this rare case, his memory of events was not shared by others who were there.

"Howie's the kinda guy that says a lot of things for effect more than anything else," Kubert said when asked about the incident. "It may have seemed to Will that it might have led to something. I'm sure it happened and that Will felt that way. But I couldn't imagine Howard ever getting into an actual fight with Will."

Eisner insisted the story happened the way he told it. He was pretty frustrated with me that I left it out of the book, in fact. But with Kubert deflating Eisner's version, there wasn't any point in going further and calling Chaykin.

Fast-forward to February 2006. I was a guest at Megacon in Orlando, promoting the book. On a break from my table, I dropped by to say "Hello" to artists Nick Cardy and Al Feldstein, both of whom I interviewed for A Spirited Life. To Feldstein's left was Chaykin.

When I bid adieu to Cardy and Feldstein, I dropped promotional postcards for my book at several booths. Seeing Chaykin was occupied with a bunch of autograph seekers, I dropped a postcard on his table and tried to move on quickly.

"Hey!" Chaykin called out to me. "Why the fuck do you think I'd care about a book by Will Eisner?"

Uh-oh.

Trapped -- and with an audience, too -- I introduced myself. Chaykin didn't have anything nice to say about Eisner, so I tried to excuse myself. Didn't work. Instead, I told Chaykin about the missing story from the book. That stopped him in his tracks. He couldn't believe Eisner would ever tell an unflattering story about himself.

More amazing for me, Chaykin confirmed the essence of the story and cussed Kubert for denying the seriousness of it. At that moment, the idea for extending the biography through a series of online interviews was born. There were so many people with Eisner stories to tell that I thought it would be fun to add to the legend.

Howard Chaykin agreed to be the first in the "Will Eisner: A Spirited Life Interview Series." The following conversation took place by telephone on March 2, 2006.

* * *

: Order 'The Art of Howard Chaykin' by clicking the book cover above

BOB ANDELMAN: Do you recall the first time you encountered Will Eisner's work in any significant way?

HOWARD CHAYKIN: Absolutely. That was the summer of 1966—the Harvey reprints. I had never seen the stuff before, and it absolutely boggled my mind. Wait – I'm wrong. The first time I was aware of it was in an article that ultimately became Jules Feiffer's book, Great Comic Book Heroes, published in the magazine section of the New York Herald Tribune. I'm pretty sure this pre-dated the Harvey material. I could be wrong. Eisner did a strip about The Spirit working with John Lindsay for his re-election. Ebony objected to it because of his relationship with HarYouAct, a local civil rights group of the time.
Then I saw the Harvey material. I was impressed with that. It was very intriguing. I was really blown away by his drawing of women. I had no idea how much of an influence at the time he had on Wallace Wood, who I considered the archetype of drawing hot babes. Will's women were very sensual—a cross between Milton Caniff and Woody.

ANDELMAN: How old would you have been in 1965?

CHAYKIN: I was 15. I think those books came out in the summer of 1966, was that right?

ANDELMAN: I think that is about right.

CHAYKIN: I was 15 and a total geek. Hugely fat. Very unhappy. Archetypal comic book fan.

ANDELMAN: Having been surrounded by them for the first time in years while promoting A Spirited Life, I am laughing.

CHAYKIN: There's been an invasion and a successful conquest—with commercial slogans like "Nerds Fuck Things Up, Geeks Do It Right." I was totally asocial and living entirely in fantasy.

That was a great year for comics,with Joe Kubert's Enemy Ace, Bob Oksner's Angel and the Ape, and Nick Cardy, Denny O'Neil and Sergio Aragones on Bat Lash.

ANDELMAN: I was wondering if you were going to mention Nick Cardy. I was thinking that was a pretty big time for him.

CHAYKIN: I love Nick's stuff. There's bunch of guys, Nick among them, like Ross Andru, Frank Thorne, a few others. Nobody pays attention to them, nobody even acknowledges their existence. I just think their work is just brilliant.

ANDELMAN: Let me bring you back to Will Eisner.

CHAYKIN: By the way, did you like the guy?

ANDELMAN: Yeah, I did, actually. He treated me extremely well.

CHAYKIN: Because you came between him and the truth.

ANDELMAN: I hope not.

CHAYKIN: He obviously treated you well because you were going to be putting his life on paper, and he wanted to be revealed in the best light possible. He was very competent at manipulating his own image.

ANDELMAN: Well, I would agree with that to a point. I didn't have any restraints in terms of what I would say or what I would write or who I would talk to.

CHAYKIN: I have to say, I am astonished he ever told you the story that brought us together in the first place.

ANDELMAN: He treated me very well. There were only two rules that we worked with on this, and I was with him for about two and a half years doing this. The first rule was laid down by Denis Kitchen and Judy Hansen, his agents, and that was, "Do not ask him about family, do not ask him about children." And they wouldn't tell me why, they just said, "Don't." We were together about a year and a half, and at that point I think I had his trust. We were at his kitchen table and it was very late. He was never up past nine o'clock, but there we were, still talking, still talking…

CHAYKIN: This was in Florida?

ANDELMAN: Yeah. And I was asking him about some pictures on the refrigerator. There was a picture of him and Neil Gaiman and Art Spiegelman and Scott McCloud, and then he just started showing me the others, and then he said, "And this is my son." And I said, "I didn't know you had a son." And that was the night that he really came clean with me about stuff, that he had a son and a daughter and that his daughter had died of leukemia in 1969, she was 16, and that just destroyed him. They took all family pictures out of the house. Most people who knew him or met him after she died had no idea that he had children.

CHAYKIN: I had no idea. I had met Will's wife a couple of times, and I am stunned.

ANDELMAN: The thing was, I was told by Denis and Judy not to bring it up, so suddenly Will brings it up, and he says, "I know that you need to know about this, and I appreciate that you haven't asked, but I know you have to know," so he told me the whole story.

It turned out that A Contract With God was basically his response after several years, that was the first time he ever dealt with her death, that it wasn't about some religious Jew mourning the death of his daughter, it was about him mourning the death of his own daughter. And Denis has the originals and has been showing them this past year. In the book, the daughter's original name was Alice. So we talked about that.

CHAYKIN: I am impressed by that, because he was so effective in controlling his own image and his own press. I think he was a great bamboozler. I think he manipulated the people who adored him, and used them to manipulate his own image. I really do.

ANDELMAN: When did you start feeling that way about him?

CHAYKIN: It probably traces back to the interviews, the Shop Talk stuff that he did back when Kitchen was publishing The Spirit. I found out that he was completely re-editing his side of the questions.

ANDELMAN: Oh? I hadn't heard that before.

: Order 'American Flagg!' by clicking the book cover above

CHAYKIN: I happened to be hanging with Gil Kane. Gil had ethical issues. I have no illusions. I loved Gil Kane despite his failings, okay? I take a lot of heat for this, but that's life. I learned a great deal about being a guy from Gil, including tying a necktie. He went absolutely bug-fuck when he read the Shop Talk thing he did with Will.

Gil was an extremely articulate man, a man who liked talking to a man who liked to talk. He was astonished and appalled when he found that Eisner had re-written and re-edited his side of the interview, I guess to make himself sound more astute, I don't know. And that opened that can of worms for me, and I began to be aware, with The Dreamer and all that stuff, that he was reinventing the past. This is guy created the modern system of the division of labor in the comic book business. He was a great businessman who passed himself off as an artist when it was necessary and as a businessman when that became necessary.

ANDELMAN: The main issue that brought us to this point was Barcelona, but I kind of wondered before we got to that if you had any previous encounters with him worth noting.

CHAYKIN: No. We had met in passing, at shows or conventions in San Diego. I always found it odd he moved to Florida. It seemed so "Jew-y." I am serious. Florida seemed an odd place for someone as cosmopolitan as Will.

ANDELMAN: So kind of set the table for me in terms of Barcelona. Why were you there?

CHAYKIN: I was a guest at the convention. As per Joe Kubert's recollection and Will's recollection, we were talking about Blackhawk, but we got onto American Flagg, and Will accused me of producing fascist comics. I realized after the fact this was based solely on his interpretation of the cover imagery. I love fascist imagery, it's extremely powerful. I like what the Italians did, I like what the Germans did. I don't subscribe to their politics. I am a huge fan of Ludwig Holhein, for example.

ANDELMAN: I'm sorry, who?

CHAYKIN: Ludwig Holhein.

ANDELMAN: I don't know his work.

CHAYKIN: He was an advertising artist in Germany in the '20s and '30s who became a very important player doing posters for the SS. Amazing graphic designer. Very influential to this day.

ANDELMAN: I will read up about him. I have probably seen the work, but I have just never heard the name.

CHAYKIN: The influences on the covers for the Flagg books were poster art. I've never been happy with my cover work, but I think I finally achieved some measure of success with those covers.

I don't see my work showing any of the influence of Jack Kirby or Will Eisner. I have an enormous respect for Will's work. In the book I hope to write, I give Will credit for basically creating the vocabulary for the medium in which we are working. He codified the language. Up to that point, it was a series of experimental ideas. Then Harvey Kurtzman made it better.

Will would make pronouncements based on what little information he had.

He tended to imply he knew more about something than he did and frequently got away with it. He never read much contemporary comics stuff. He had no understanding of the context in which those covers existed, and yet he was willing to call me a fascist. And that's just something that I will not accept.
I am a child of liberal parents. I'm proud of my distinctly left liberal place on the planet. I have been called a left wing faggot on the Internet too often to accept otherwise. I am not a bleeding heart—I'm a Cold War liberal, a classic socialist Jew. I was raised in a predominantly secular home.

ANDELMAN: I think that kind of brings us to what happened. I remember Will telling me, "I almost came to blows with Chaykin," or, "He almost slugged me," or something to that effect.

CHAYKIN: I'm not going to hit anybody—but I was very annoyed. I offered Kubert $10 to kick his ass, and Kubert said that for $20 he would think about it. I was being facetious. I found him insulting and condescending. And I found his relationship with most people was profoundly condescending, yet they were willing to take it because he was so beloved a figure.

ANDELMAN: Right. You were not planning to lay a hand on Will.

CHAYKIN: Oh, come on. I don't do that sort of thing. I tend to shoot from the lip. I give credit to Jack Paar for having so profound an influence on my life.
One of the frustrations of working in the comic book business is the constant misappropriation of the word "cynic" when skeptic is what they mean. I considered Will a cynic, if you will, willing to say and do anything to remain in the good graces of his audience. I don't think he was a bad guy, but he was condescending in a particularly German-Jewish way. I'm a Russian Jew, and I spent most of my boyhood being slum-lorded by German Jews, so I have my issues.

: Order 'The Shadow: Blood & Judgement' by clicking the book cover above

ANDELMAN: Is there any part of you that wishes you could have had this conversation with him and worked that out?

CHAYKIN: Not especially. I don't really care. The weird thing is, the two guys I feel are most responsible for the evolution of comics storytelling were Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman—and I never got along with either of them.

I have never outgrown my worship of Harvey's stuff. When I hire a new assistant I hand them the Two-Fisted Tales, Frontline Combat, and Terry & the Pirates, to show them what they should be doing.

My personal feelings aside from Harvey, the work remains brilliant. I don't feel that way about Will's stuff. I will crack open Harvey's stuff and be amazed and intrigued by it, the Mad stuff, Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline. That rarely happens with Will's stuff. It's pretty, but I don't really care. The only time I think about Will Eisner is in a conversation like this.

ANDELMAN: So you have read my description of what happened in Barcelona between you, Will Eisner and Joe Kubert. Is there anything you would fill in with the gaps of what was going on?

CHAYKIN: He was not referring to Blackhawk, he was referring to the Flagg covers.

ANDELMAN: All right.

CHAYKIN: And Joe did not separate us. I literally – facetiously – offered Joe $10 to kick his ass, and Joe said, make it $20 and we will talk.

ANDELMAN: And that was in front of Will.

CHAYKIN: Yes. We were kidding. I was pissed off, but not pissed off enough to lay a hand on an old Jew. Frankly, Kubert could have kicked my ass. Twenty minutes ago, I was talking about Joe with my assistant. Joe could still take me apart and put me back together any way he wanted. I ran into Joe in the lobby of the hotel at a San Francisco convention, and he gave me a shot to the chops with his knuckles; he rattled my teeth. Joe is an incredibly, physically powerful guy. He is in amazing shape

But no, there was no danger of any fisticuffs. On the other hand, I think what Will said was something he pulled out of his ass, because he knew nothing about me or the work. All he was basing it on was his cursory impression of the Flagg! covers.

: Order 'Blackhawk: Blood & Iron Book One' by clicking the comic book cover above

[amazon_link id="B000FS69W0" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ][/amazon_link]The assumption Will made was there was him and everyone else—that the everyone else is doing work that's by nature secondary to his vision. His dismissal of Jack Kirby is a classic example of this. I'm not a huge fan of Kirby's, but I acknowledge his place in the pantheon. Will never thought very highly of the work. I am sure you know this.

ANDELMAN: It was never actually said to me.

CHAYKIN: Will regarded Jack as a guy who just turned the pages out.

ANDELMAN: If so, I think that had a lot to do with where they started together, and that is what Jack was doing at the beginning, and I don't think he ever saw him any differently, but…

CHAYKIN: Like the work or not, Jack is the center of the universe in the evolution of modern work. The man was able to spew out work of astonishing, consistent quality over a period of fifty years. That's mind-boggling.

ANDELMAN: After Barcelona, as you walked away from that situation, obviously your view of Will was changed. You went from just having a casual familiarity and knowledge of him in that sense to, "Boy, I really can't stand this guy."

CHAYKIN: I was not happy with this character.

: Order 'Dominic Fortune: It Can Happen Here and Now' by clicking the book cover above

ANDELMAN: Were there other things that happened between then and now that grew that, or was it just…

CHAYKIN: Well, we were together again in Brazil in 1993 or 1994, and Kubert was there again. Joe is always a character in this story!

ANDELMAN: What happened in Brazil?

CHAYKIN: Eisner was baiting me. I don't remember the specific details. Eisner was traveling stag, his wife didn't come down. There was Jules Feiffer and his wife, Kubert and Muriel, Jose Delbo and his wife Mabel, me and my wife. Will baited me. I think he did so because he felt he could. Jules calmed down the situation and I appreciated that, because there was no reason for me to lose my temper.

I had a prickly relationship with Will that lasted until he died. The last time I saw Will was at an Eisner Awards at the San Diego convention. I'm an early riser, a go to bed at 10: 00 o'clock guy. It was 11: 30, and I am having to be social and comfortable and conscious while I was exhausted. I wasn't all that thrilled to be there in the first place. I am a guy who never wins these things. I want the attention as much as the next guy, but by the same token, I don't care that much about the enthusiasm of others. If I did, I would probably have done different work, so I accept the fact that I am the architect of my own adversity. By the same token, at 11: 30 at night, I want to be in bed.

Will was there. We were cordial. He understood that we were not people who were close.

ANDELMAN: Have you encountered anyone else over the years who has had similar exchanges with him?

CHAYKIN: Gil Kane.

ANDELMAN: What did Gil say about him?

CHAYKIN: He felt very much as I did.

ANDELMAN: Did Gil ever tell you any specific stories?

CHAYKIN: Not really. We had a shared antipathy. Will was made a saintly figure before he died. This guy really was a talented artist, but a major portion of his career was played in the same ballpark as Jack Liebowitz and Victor Fox. He may not have been as big an asshole or mobster, but the guy was ethically compromised in his own way.

ANDELMAN: After you are gone, do you think there is someone out there who will have any similar feelings toward you?

CHAYKIN: In terms of my behavior?

ANDELMAN: Well, yeah, or anything. You are a very strong personality. You say what is on your mind.

CHAYKIN: I'm roundly despised by people who don't know me, but I believe I'll be held in fairly high regard by most people. I'm not really worried.

ANDELMAN: Okay, I'll ask. Who is the guy who is more widely despised?

CHAYKIN: I think John Byrne is more widely despised than I am.

As for how I'll be remembered, I'm a cult figure. I never became a star, and I'm comfortable with that.

I live a small life. The work speaks for itself. I'm ashamed of some of it because I take credit and blame equally. And I am bitter about some stuff and okay with others, but as I get older, I get less bitter, because I give less of a shit.

ANDELMAN: As you look ahead, put on your forward-looking glasses…

CHAYKIN: As I become the old Jew as opposed to the late middle-aged?

ANDELMAN: There you go. How do you think the industry and the greater group who might have some knowledge of Eisner, how do you think he will be regarded in twenty, twenty-five, fifty years? Will people even remember him?

CHAYKIN: Well, does anybody remember Lou Fine, does anybody remember Hal Foster? The industry is very much a reflection of contemporary culture. Look what happened to J.C. Leyendecker. Leyendecker was completely forgotten until Richard Amsel and Roger Huyssen borrowed images from his work, for movie posters and magazine illustrations in the 1970s. The poster for The Sting is what brought J.C. Leyendecker back to public awareness.

He was a Saturday Evening Post artist from the teens, who did his last cover for the Post in 1943. His work became passé in the last decade of his life. He died at 75 in 1950. Remember the poster for The Sting?

ANDELMAN: Sure.

CHAYKIN: That was based on two Arrow Shirt ads, I believe. It was by Richard Amsel, a talented poster and magazine cover artist who died in the early 1980s.

Interestingly enough, a lot of Will's rendering of shadows and fold patterns, where he would take a brush and indicate a fold in a shadow not with a solid black but by a series of horizontal lines, that's a black and white simplified version of what Leyendecker did with his interpretation of shadows and folds. Take a look—you'll see what I mean.

Howard Chaykin Facebook • Wikipedia • Original Art Gallery

The Brinkley Girls thrill comics historian Trina Robbins! (2009 Audio Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:38:53 PST

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Order 'The Brinkley Girls' by clicking the book cover above

This is my third year of being the ringmaster of the Mr. Media radio show and I’m starting to see previous guests return with new projects.

And that is certainly the case tonight, as cartoonist and historian Trina Robbins returns to the show to talk about her new project, The Brinkley Girls.

TRINA ROBBINS audio excerpt: "She was an early feminist. A lot of the work is just pretty girls -- she loved drawing pretty girls and she was great at it -- but the protagonists in her stories were these gorgeous, strong, feisty women."

MM-TrinaRobbins043009.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with TRINA ROBBINS, author of THE BRINKLEY GIRLS, by clicking the audio player above!

Trina was a great guest the first time around, talking about her original comic book character, GoGirl! This time, she’s here to promote a new Fantagraphics collection of full color art by Nell Brinkley, drawn between 1913 and 1940. It’s a beautiful coffee table book laden with history and significance for both comics and advertising.

Trina Robbins Website • Blog • Facebook • Wikipedia • Trina Robbins 2007 interview with Mr. Media

Trina Robbins unleashes her GoGirl! on future feminists! (2007 Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:29:06 PST

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Order 'Go Girl!, Vol. 3: Robots Gone Wild!' by clicking the cover above

When my daughter was born a little over ten years ago, I was plunged into a world I never knew growing up as the oldest of three children. There was just enough difference in our ages, five years, that I never experienced much of my sister's interests as a child or teen.

So here I am, a decade later, finding my way through girl stuff that was beyond my radar when I was a kid. Fortunately, my daughter’s interests are broad. She’s an aggressive soccer and softball player, but she also likes pretty clothes and playing the piano, and -- like her dad -- she’s got the comic book gene.

Still, I was surprised this week when I asked her what she thought of Trina Robbins’ latest GoGirl! book, Robots Gone Wild.

She eyed it suspiciously, not sure she wanted to read a comic book that wasn’t in color. There aren’t many comics titles specifically geared for girls, so the hesitation remained as she plumbed the pages, but pretty soon, she was deep into the book. In fact, it’s the first book for which she’s put aside re-reading the “Harry Potter” series for the umpteenth time. That alone ought to tell you how much she liked it.

Trina Robbins, the author of the GoGirl! series of comics from Dark Horse, joins us today as our guest.

Trina Robbins Website • Blog • Facebook • Wikipedia • Trina Robbins 2007 interview with Mr. Media

MM-TrinaRobbins060707.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with TRINA ROBBINS, author of GoGIRL!, by clicking the audio player above!

BOB ANDELMAN/Mr. MEDIA: Trina, is the pre-teen and the teen girl, is that a new reader of comics? I just don’t remember any girls when I was that age being interested in comics.

TRINA ROBBINS: Well, you don’t remember because you are not old enough, but no, it is not a new reader of comics. There used to be tons of comics for pre-teens and teen girls all through the 1940s and ’50s and well into at least the middle to late ’60s, and then they all disappeared in favor of superheroes, which girls basically are not interested in. The average girl is not interested in superheroes, so suddenly, girls weren’t reading comics any more because there were no comics they wanted to read.

ANDELMAN: What were they reading in the ’40s and ’50s and ’60s? What were some titles?

ROBBINS: They were reading comics about teenagers, usually about teenage girls, although they read Archie. You talk to a lot of women of a certain age and ask them what they read when they were a kid, and they read Archie comics, but they won’t call it that, they’ll say, "I read Betty & Veronica," because that’s who they related to. And there were other titles. Stan Lee, the editor of Marvel who has given us Spider-man and The X-Men and the Fantastic Four in the ’60s gave us so many teen titles in the ‘40s. The biggest two were Patsy Walker, which was about a teenage girl, and Millie the Model, which lasted a long time. You’ll find a lot of people who remember Millie the Model because it lasted through the mid-’70s. Archie Comics also gave us Katy Keene, who was a model, and the girls just loved Katy Keene and used to send in drawings and designs for her clothes, and again, you find women past a certain age, and they’ll all tell you they loved Katy Keene when they were little girls.

ANDELMAN: And didn’t Marvel eventually bring Patsy Walker back, but like as a superhero or something?

ROBBINS: No. The less said about that, the better.

ANDELMAN: I am actually old enough to remember the comics in the ’60s that you are talking about. There were those things, and there was another one I remember. I guess it was into the early ’70s. There was a Marvel comic, I think Night Nurse or something like that.

ROBBINS: Oh, Night Nurse! Yes, that was part of kind of their desperate attempt to regain the girl audience, but at that point, it was too little too late.

ANDELMAN: Why has it taken thirty years for comics publishers to rediscover women? Does it have something to do with the Japanese influence?

ROBBINS: It has everything to do with the Japanese influence.

Up until Manga arrived on our shores, American comic editors and publishers suffered from a kind of collective amnesia and used to say, well, girls don’t read comics. I mean, I have some unbelievable quotes from them. They actually said, “Girls’ brains are wired in a different way, so they just don’t get comics.” Somehow, it never, ever, occurred to them that girls weren’t reading comics because girls are not interested in overly muscled guys with square jaws punching each other out.

Somehow, they just didn’t see that at all, they just saw girls don’t read comics. But now we have all these incredible Manga, Shojo Manga, which is the Japanese term for girls Manga, and the girls are eating them up. You go into any chain bookstore like Borders or Barnes and Noble, you go to the graphic novel section, you see these teenage and pre-teen girls sitting on the floor surrounded by Manga, reading them.

ANDELMAN: I did not know that that’s what Shojo meant. See, I’ve learned something already today.

ROBBINS: And the boys’ are called Shonen Manga. And there is definitely crossover. Girls read Shonen and boys read Shoujo.

ANDELMAN: I feel like a giant light bulb just went on over my head now that I understand that. It’s the generation I’m in, I guess. I never stopped to understand what those two meant.

ROBBINS: Now you know!

ANDELMAN: I feel greatly enlightened. Now, let’s talk about GoGirl, which I mentioned before we actually started the interview that my daughter really, really enjoyed. For those who may be scratching their head who don’t know GoGirl like they know Betty and Veronica, could you tell us a little bit about who GoGirl is and a little about the adventures?

ROBBINS: Sure. I’ll start by saying that it’s published by Dark Horse so you can know where to look for it. GoGirl is a fifteen-year-old girl whose mother was a super heroine, and her mother’s name was GoGoGirl, and she wore a little white go-go mini-dress and white go-go boots, and she could fly. Then she stopped. She got divorced. She had to be a single mother and support her daughter. She had stopped even before that, because her husband felt threatened by being married to a woman who could fly, which will tell you why the marriage didn’t last. But anyway, she doesn’t know, in the beginning, anyway, she didn’t know that her daughter had inherited her ability to fly and was flying in secret because she kind of knew that her mother had bad feelings about it. Then our heroine had to put on her mom’s old costume, which fit her perfectly, and go out and rescue her best friend when her friend got kidnapped, and that was when the world finally learned that they had another super heroine, a flying girl. And her mother has been very supportive and sometimes jumps in on the action wearing the extra outfit because she had to have two costumes so that when one was at the cleaner’s, she could wear the other. But that’s all she can do. That’s all she can do; she can fly. Otherwise, she is a perfectly normal teenage girl. She doesn’t have X-ray vision, she doesn’t have fists of steel, she can fly.

ANDELMAN: And Trina, which parts of this are autobiographical?

ROBBINS: None, except for the fact, of course, that I’m a mother, and I have a daughter, and I love my daughter. And we have a good relationship as do GoGirl and her mother.

ANDELMAN: I see. All right, so there’s no flying going on in your house?

ROBBINS: Oh, how I wish.

ANDELMAN: Why did you start this series? Is it because there was all this Japanese Manga that was going on, or did you…

ROBBINS: No. We did this pre-Manga. This goes back to 1999. Anne Timmons is the artist, by the way, and she is just such a fabulous artist, and we work together as a writer/artist team so well that I have called us the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby of girls’ comics. We first met at a convention in the late ’90s and kind of became email pen pals, and then one day, she said, “Let’s do a comic together. You write, and I draw.” And I thought, “Fat chance we’ll have of selling this,” because in those days, Manga had not really gotten its hold on the United States yet, and there was really very little out there for girls, but I thought, what do I have to lose? I have a file cabinet in my head of all these comics ideas that I want to do, and I pulled out of the file cabinet the file on the flying teenager and created GoGirl! In the beginning, Image was publishing us in comic book form, but you may or may not know that the problem of comic books if you’re aimed at girls, not so much any more, because of Manga, but in those days, if you were aiming your comic book at girls, you had a terrible time getting it distributed. There were comic book stores that simply didn’t want to carry girls’ comics, and all they had was superhero comics for boys.

ANDELMAN: Well, they probably didn’t see many girls in their stores, so why would they think to carry them?

ROBBINS: Well, you see, it’s this vicious cycle. The girls didn’t go in the stores because there was nothing there for them. Plus, the stores were wall-to-wall teenage boys, which is very intimidating if you are a young girl. So, of course, the girls didn’t go into stores. So then everybody could say, “Oh, girls don’t read comics,” right? But anyway, we had five issues of the comic book, and then we went over to Dark Horse, and Dark Horse published the first five issues as a collection, a graphic novel collection, and it was about that time that Manga started hitting, especially Shojo Manga started hitting. Girls who had been starved for comics for twenty years finally found comics they liked, and we could get graphic novels in bookstores, so we have since then done two more graphic novels, and we hope to produce another one next year.

ANDELMAN: Trina -- and I say this with all due respect -- you have been around comics for quite a while now…

ROBBINS: Too long.

ANDELMAN: How did you get interested in the field?

ROBBINS:

I’m one of those people who’s old enough to have read those comics when she was a kid. I read Millie the Model, and I read Katy Keene, and I loved them, and so then when I grew up and I heard all these editors saying, "Girls don’t read comics," I knew it wasn’t true.

Simple as that, I knew it wasn’t true because I had read them, and my girlfriends had read them, and we used to read them and trade comics, just like kids do today.

ANDELMAN: But I mean, what would make you think, since there were not many women in the field, because you’ve done cartoons, you’ve done comics, you’ve done histories, I can’t imagine it was a very welcoming field as a professional.

ROBBINS: No. Absolutely not, and that was a shock, because it had somehow never occurred to me that comics was a boys’ club. I mean, it didn’t occur to me that people would think, “Oh, you are a girl, you can’t do comics,” and so it was really a shock when I discovered that. But by then, this other thing had kicked in, which is the “I’ll show them” syndrome.

ANDELMAN: Were there any women that did mentor you at all or that encouraged you that were in the field?

ROBBINS: Well, actually, when I saw my first underground comic in 1966 in a New York underground newspaper called The East Village Other, it was this very, very psychedelic full-page comic called “Gentle Trip Out,” and it was signed “Panzica.” I had no idea who Panzica was, but I looked at it, and I said, I want to do this. Not literally that comic, but I want to do comics, and two years later, at that point, I was living in New York, and I was contributing comics to the East Village Other, I found out that Panzica was a woman, so you could say that my first inspiration was a woman, and I didn’t even know it.

ANDELMAN: I’m glad you mentioned the East Village Other, which this will be the second time it’s mentioned in Mr. Media. What other kinds of things did you do in the ’70s, because you’ve had a very diverse career, I know?

ROBBINS: Well, I did lots of comics, because I still had that ‘I’ll show them’ syndrome. I did lots of comics. Actually in 1970, I produced the first all-woman comic book ever that was called It Ain’t Me, Babe, and it was named from the feminist newspaper I was working on, It Ain’t Me, Babe. Actually, in those days, we called it “Women’s Liberation.” It was the first women’s liberation newspaper on the west coast, and I was kind of the unofficial artist and art director, but everybody was very egalitarian, so we didn’t have titles.

: Order 'The Great Women Superheroes' by clicking the book cover above

ANDELMAN: It’s hard to believe that that term has in some ways become an antique. You don’t hear it very much any more.

ROBBINS: Women’s liberation?

ANDELMAN: Yeah.

ROBBINS: Of course not. It really dates you, doesn’t it?

ANDELMAN: Yeah, it really does.

ROBBINS: If some old guy says, oh, yes, I’m on the side of you women’s libbers, you know how old he is.

ANDELMAN: Oh you know, I’m hearing you say that, and I’m thinking of Archie Bunker making cracks about it.

ROBBINS: Exactly. He used to use that term, didn’t he?

ANDELMAN: Oh yeah, and kind of the way Rush Limbaugh would refer to….

ROBBINS: Feminazis.

ANDELMAN: Feminazis, thank you. Yeah. Generation apart, but same basic attitude. So were there any women over the years that helped you or that mentored you along?

ROBBINS: Not really. There weren’t any around to help me or mentor me, but I’ve been inspired by a lot of early women cartoonists whose work I’ve researched and whose stories I’ve looked up and researched. I’ve just been inspired by what they did. I’ve published really three books on women who worked in comics, two of them simply on the history of women cartoonists. Because the other thing that all those editors used to say besides “Girls don’t read comics,” is they used to say, “Women have never written or drawn comics.” Again, I knew this wasn’t true. So I researched, and I found hundreds of women over the 20th century who had done comics.

Back in the very early days of the 20th century, there were lots of women drawing comics for the newspapers, and nobody thought it was unusual.

They didn’t have to take male names, contrary to strange public belief that women had to take male names to get published. It wasn’t true, and nobody said, “Oh, this is weird. You can’t do a comic because you’re a woman.”

CLICK HERE TO READ PART 2!!!

White Collar and Chuck star Matt Bomer drops by Mr. Media Radio! (2011 Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:51:38 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Hollywood’s best-looking, most talented young actors… and Brandon Routh… in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Order 'White Collar: Season Two' by clicking the DVD cover above!

Who’s the mark?

I don’t think it’s me, although I may have gotten “White Collar” star Matt Bomer here under a false premise – that I wanted to only talk to “Bonds. James Bonds” about his current show on USA Network.

MATT BOMER audio excerpt: "I think Bryce Larkin would have a lot to say about (Chuck and Sarah getting married). But I think, ultimately, he'd understand."

MM-MattBomer030711.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with MATT BOMER, star of USA's WHITE COLLAR, by clicking the audio player above!

The truth? If you’re listening to this show, you already know; I’m a huge fan of NBC’s “Chuck,” the show where Bomer first made his big career splash as Bryce Larkin, the superspy that turned Chuck Bartkowski into the Intersect. He was also Sarah’s boyfriend. And now, with Chuck and Sarah on the verge of becoming engagement, I suspect Bryce will find his way back into their lives, even momentarily.

But I’ve got to fill in around the edges to get the prize: "White Collar," now in its second season, airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m., only on USA. And one more thing: Brett Ratner was right and Bryan Singer was wrong; Matt Bomer would have made a great Superman.

: Order 'Chuck: The Complete First Season' by clicking on the DVD cover above!

So if Bomer talks about “Chuck,” he’s the mark. If he’ll only talk about “White Collar,” I guess that’ll teach me.

Matt Bomer Matt Bomer Fan.com • Official White Collar Website

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Legs McNeil returns with I Slept with Joey Ramone! (2010 Audio Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:22:59 PST

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Order 'I Slept with Joey Ramone: A Punk Rock Family Memoir' by clicking the book cover above!

Joey Ramone wasn’t really Joey Ramone. Most people know that the “Ramones” name was for the stage, although few sought out and became their stage persona more completely than the former Jeffry Hyman, a spindly, troubled boy from Queens.

If you’re a Ramones fan—or just fascinated with stories of familial disfunction—you’re going to find the new book, I Slept With Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir, an irresistible attraction.

LEGS McNEIL AUDIO EXCERPT: "All along, Mickey was writing songs with Joey and never credited. Years and years of frustration came to light when Bud Light used 'Blitzkrieg Bop' in a commercial. I don't think he wanted a lot of money; he wanted recognition. He was there in the studio (when the song was originally recorded), harmonizing with Joey because their voices were almost identical. It was kinda like The Beach Boys, with Carl and Brian Wilson harmonizing with each other."

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You can LISTEN to this interview with LEGS McNEIL, co-author of I SLEPT WITH JOEY RAMONE, by clicking the audio player above!

: Order 'Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk' by clicking the book cover above!

The story was written by Joey’s younger brother, Mitchell Hyman, a.k.a. Mickey Leigh, with help from Legs McNeil, a long-time friend of both brothers and the author of the classic music history, Please Kill Me: The Uncensored History of Punk.

Legs, today making his second appearance on Mr. Media, got to know Joey and Mickey in the late ‘70s when he and John Holmstrom co-founded the legendary Punk magazine. I got to know Legs through his later contributions to Spin magazine. His writing always comes with a twist; he’s never dull.

Legs McNeil Facebook • MySpace • PunkMagazine.com

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Lullwater rocks Athens, Mr. Media and this post! (Live performance)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:16:12 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of local rock heroes who may want to quit the business after hearing Lullwater take center stage… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

Lullwater is here to rock America! (Interview, performance) from Bob Andelman on Vimeo.

: Order the the new Lullwater CD, 'Silhouette'!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

When the first notes from Lullwater’s new CD, Silhouette, begins to play, you’ll know—without question—that these boys have their hearts firmly planted in Dixie.

It’s not strictly Southern fried rock, but there are unmistakable bits of Lynyrd Skynyrd tucked away in “Worse By Better.” I hear the Georgia Satellites in places, too. Maybe a BoDeans twang in the guitar structure. And even a little R.E.M., in terms of the catchier tunes – not surprising since they’re both born of Athens, Georgia.

MM-Lullwater083111.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with the Athens band LULLWATER by clicking the audio player above!

This is one of those rock bands that, the moment you hear them, you’re hooked. They rock hard, but in that melodic, rhythmic way that eventually makes for gold records—or whatever passes for gold records in the age of digital music .

I think you’ll hear that for yourself shortly, as the band – John Strickland, Roy Beatty and Nick Thomas (Brett Strickland couldn’t make it today) – will be playing live shortly, right here on Mr. Media.

Lullwater is currently on the road, having just finished live dates in Indianapolis, Chicago, Nashville and Atlanta. Check your local listings for dates in your town; they’re coming soon to New York, Brookfield, CT, Greenville, NC, back home to Athens, GA, and so on.

Right now, get to know Lullwater live and in person.

Lullwater Website • MySpace • Facebook • Twitter • ReverbNation • Order the new Lullwater CD Silhouette

JOHN STRICKLAND audio excerpt: "When we were on the road, we got to know each other and we all had the same goals in mind."

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Live Music Performances on Mr. Media®

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:53:48 PST

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

• HoneyHoney (Live performance, Little Toy Gun • Video)

• Adam Falcon (Live Performances, The Waves • Video)

• 28 North (live performance, Napa Valley • Video)

• Emii (Live performance, Mr. Romeo • Video)

• J.D. Malone and the Experts (J.D. Malone and Tom Hampton live performance • Video)

• Josh Flagg (live performance, Devastate Me • Video)

• Johnny G. Lyon (live performance, audio)

• Lullwater (live performance • Video)

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Editorial cartoonist Clay Bennett shares his views freely! (2008 Audio Interview))

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:29:44 PST

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

Of the nine books I’ve written, it just occurred to me that the first and last have Pulitzer Prize connections—not for my work, unfortunately, but still…

The last was Will Eisner: A Spirited Life, a biography of the American master artist and writer, which featured an introduction by Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Michael Chabon.

And my first book, Stadium For Rent, features dozens of editorial cartoons drawn by future Pulitzer Prize winning artist Clay Bennett.

Back then, Bennett was poking fun at local issues and political figures for the St. Petersburg Times. I’ve always regarded his style as sneaky—the clean lines and bold images let him club you over the head with his message while you’re still chuckling.

CLAY BENNETT audio excerpt: "The virtue most of my editorial cartoons have is that they are exactly six inches wide by four inches deep. They'll fit the hole perfectly... They will fit the space."

MM-ClayBennett091608.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist CLAY BENNETT of the CHATTANOGA TIMES FREE PRESS, by clicking the audio player above!

Bennett left the Times for the Christian Science Monitor, where he ultimately won his Pulitzer. Today, he’s with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, of all places, and we’ll certainly talk about that, I’m sure.

Clay Bennett Website • Facebook • Bio • Times Free Press Cartoons • GoComics Cartoons •

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The Big Bang Theory hits 100; listen to co-creator Bill Prady's 2008 interview with Mr. Media!

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:29:35 PST

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Order 'The Big Bang Theory: The Complete First Season' by clicking the DVD above!

[amazon_link id="B000W91RUG" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ][/amazon_link]Bill Prady is having a pretty good year, writer’s strike and all, thanks to the success of “The Big Bang Theory,” the hit CBS sitcom he co-created with Chuck Lorre.

If you haven’t seen “The Big Bang Theory,” it stars Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons as a couple of supernerds named Leonard and Sheldon – an in-joke for those of us who remember a sitcom master of old, the late Sheldon Leonard. Leonard produced everything from “Make Room for Daddy” with Danny Thomas to “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Andy Griffith Show. He was also a director, a writer, and a frequent guest star.

BILL PRADY audio excerpt: "One of the great things about the Big Bang Theory characters is that they are accepting of each other's idiosyncracies."

MM-BillPrady040908.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with BILL PRADY, co-creator of CBS's THE BIG BANG THEORY, by clicking the audio player above!

Sheldon and Leonard, the lead characters in “The Big Bang Theory” have absolutely nothing in common with their namesake except that he’d probably be proud of the tribute because they are smartly drawn, literate, and, most importantly, damn funny.

This isn't Prady's first rodeo; you've also seen his work on "Gilmore Girls," "Star Trek Voyager," "Dharma & Greg," "Two and a Half Men," "The Cosby Show," and "Dream On."

Bill Prady Twitter • Official Big Bang website on CBS • Order The Big Bang Theory Season One on DVD

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Actor Russell Hornsby takes aim on NBC show Grimm! (Audio Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:40:09 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of evil characters from non-Grimm, fractured fairy tales who check the trades daily for guest starring roles on the NBC drama – I’m looking at you, Boris & Natasha… in the NEW new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Russell Hornsby as Hank Griffin, David Giuntoli as Nick Burkhardt (Photo by Scott Green/NBC)

How crazy is the NBC drama “Grimm,” which is loosely adapted from the classic fairytales?

So many ancient beasts, crazies and creepies running around, viewers need a scorecard to keep track!

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]You can LISTEN to this interview with actor RUSSELL HORNSBY, star of NBC's GRIMM, by clicking the audio player above!

RUSSELL HORNSBY audio excerpt: "The creativity in the names - a lot of consonants, you know what I mean? And they're all original names from the mind of (show co-creator) Jim Kouf who, I think, sneezes and comes up with them."

As Portland homicide detective Hank Griffin, Russell Hornsby is one of the good guys. He and his partner, Detective Nick Burkhardt, are doing their level best to keep peace in Oregon between humanity and its roster of mythological, sometimes pathological creatures.

The fact that Burkhardt himself is desceded from a long line of criminal profilers is a plus for them.

As for Hornsby, you might recognize him as a cop from “Lincoln Heights” or his season on HBO’s “In Treatment.” He also starred opposite Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in “Fences.”

: Russell Hornsby as Hank Griffin (Photo by Scott Green/NBC)

If you hesitated to try this show out because you thought it would never last, think again: “Grimm” is performing well in the ratings in its 9 p.m. Friday timeslot and was recently picked up for a full season.

Russell Hornsby Website

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As Chuck winds down, actor Scott Krinsky gets to stretch! (Audio Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:20:44 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of carbon monoxide-fueled psychopaths who probably won’t go on living after the last new episode of “Chuck” airs… in the NEW new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: "Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer" Episode 205 -- Pictured: (l-r) Zachary Levi as Chuck, Scott Krinsky as Jeff (NBC Photo: Adam Taylor)

If you don’t think most TV shows are very good at character development and growth these days, I’d encourage you to take a look at NBC’s “Chuck” as it winds down its five year run with two final episodes, tonight, Friday, January 13 at 8 p.m. and next week, January 20.

For a show that has lived under threat of cancellation almost from day one, “Chuck” has nonetheless evolved its overall storyline and the lives of each of its players. Chuck Bartowski, for example, is no longer an accidental spy with a supercomputer in his brain; he’s the real thing, doing the job without high tech enhancements.

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You can LISTEN to this interview with actor SCOTT KRINSKY, co-star of NBC's CHUCK, by clicking the audio player above!

: Order 'Chuck: The Complete First and Second Seasons' by clicking the images above!

[amazon_link id="B002WNUVIE" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ][/amazon_link]And what about second banana Jeff Barnes? After years of being drug-addled, sex-crazed and just plain creepy, we learned that his best friend Lester Patel made him this way by pumping carbon monoxide fumes into his van! Turns out Jeff is a somewhat regular guy – with pretty good powers of deduction.

Last week, after five years, he put together a series of clues and deduced that there was a spy ring operating beneath the Buy More. Imagine that!

My suspicion is that restoring Jeff to normality was the show’s producers handing actor Scott Krinsky a parting gift. They had to know it might tough for him landing future roles with such a convincing portrayal of a loser and, I believe, gave his character back some semblence of normalcy to let future casting directors see Krinsky in a more employable light.

But rather than guess, I’ll ask him.

: Scott Krinsky as Jeff Barnes on NBC's "Chuck" (NBC Photo: Mitchell Haaseth)

(By the way, this is Scott’s second appearance on Mr. Media. He was last here promoting his appearance as guest host at the Acme Comedy Theater.)

Scott Krinsky Website • MySpace • Twitter • Facebook • Order 'Chuck' Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD

SCOTT KRINSKY audio excerpt: "It was nice to, after all these years of playing Jeff one way, it was nice to see him have a little growth and maturity. He was at the Buy More for 20 years! It was nice to see he had some potential to turn his life around."

More Mr. Media Interviews with the Cast of Chuck:

• Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah)

• Josh Gomez (Morgan, 2008 • 2010)

• Ryan McPartlin (Captain Awesome)

• Vik Sahay (Lester, 2009 • 2010)

• Scott Krinsky (Jeff)

• Ken Davitian (Sarah's Uncle Bernie)

• Noureen DeWulf (Lizzie, in Chuck vs. the Marlin • Video)

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Video Interview: Singer Charlene Kaye on working with her Glee pal, Darren Criss

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:13:00 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of old men who claim not to watch TV shows about high school kids… in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

Part 1

: Darren Criss, Charlene Kaye

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

I won’t lie to you – when I was approached to interview singer Charlene Kaye, the light didn’t go on until I discovered that she frequently collaborates on music with Darren Criss.

Criss I recognized – my 14-year-old daughter and her friends knew him from a 2009 series of viral YouTube music videos known as “A Very Potter Musical.” Criss plays Harry Potter in the parody – and he’s quite good in the role. Every teen girl I know knows every word to the “Potter Musical” songs and freaked out when Criss joined the cast of "Glee." (My daughter, in fact, had never been interested in the Fox show before she heard Criss was on it.)

MM-CharleneKaye042111.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with singer CHARLENE KAYE by clicking the audio player above!

Charlene Kaye

Now, it can be a publicist’s boon or bust when pitching a client based on with whom she hangs out. Because if the less-well-known artist doesn’t have the goods, she will falter by comparison.

Not Charlene Kaye.

This young woman has one of the richest, most engaging voices I’ve heard in years. She has a striking style, confidence, and delivery. Charlene just finished playing multiple dates at the 2011 South By Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, and is working on her second album with her band, The Brilliant Eyes.

Want to hear the future of music? Forget American Idol — support Charlene Kaye!

Charlene Kaye Website • Twitter • Facebook • MySpace • BandCamp • Tumblr • Order Dress and Tie featuring Darren Criss

CHARLENE KAYE audio excerpt: "He's just so charismatic. He handles himself so gracefully. People were swarming him at the Grammys. Everybody wanted a piece of Darren Criss... And it was not bad to be arm candy for Darren Criss. It was amazing."

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

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Married actors America Olivo and Christian Campbell talk craft! (Video Interview))

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:18:13 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of other husband and wife entertainers, including Steve & Eydie, Mike Nichols & Diane Sawyer and Lady & the Tramp… in the NEW new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Order 'Music From Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark' by clicking the image above!

America Olivo is full of surprises.The first time she was on the show, ostensibly to promote a new movie called Circle, she did the interview from the basement of the Foxwoods Theatre on Broadway. Upstairs, rehearsals were underway for a new musical directed by Julie Taymor and featuring music by Bono and The Edge. You may have heard of it: “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”

She couldn’t say anything much about it at the time; I learned much later that she is the understudy for one of the leads as the villainess “Arachne” -- and several other major and minor characters.

: America Olivo on the cover of Playboy magazine

MM-America-Christian013111.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with AMERICA OLIVO, of SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK, and CHRISTIAN CAMPBELL of BIG LOVE, by clicking the audio player above!

After the interview ended, America said I might enjoy talking to her husband, Christian Campbell. They met on the set of Neighbor and were married in July 2009. He’s got his own career going – perhaps you’ve heard of HBO’s “Big Love”? Christian has a recurring role in the series fifth and final season, which just kicked off.

These two both have live theater, music soap operas and genre roles in their shared past. Oh, and did I mention they’re both extremely good looking?

If you've never watched Mr. Media® TV, this would be a good day to start!

America Olivo Twitter • Facebook • America's first Mr. Media interview (2010)
Christian Campbell Twitter

AMERICA OLIVO audio excerpt"I don't know if the talk about Spider-Man upsets the cast and crew as much as the incidents. It's such a technical show and to be rushed made things a bit precarious."

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Dylan, Zevon and Eastwood? Must be the lost writings of Paul Nelson! (Video Interview))

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:41:48 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Rolling Stone magazine writers and past Mr. Media guests such as Ben Fong-Torres, David Wild and Parke Puterbaugh who are hanging on every word today as they seal their own unpublished interviews in air-tight mayonnaise jars and hide them under my bed… in the NEW new media capital of the world, St. Petersburg, Florida!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

: Order 'Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson's Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979-1983' by clicking the book cover above!

I completely get Kevin Avery – I think.

Growing up, he admired the writing and reviews of a long-time Rolling Stone journalist named Paul Nelson. He even wrote a fan letter to the magazine about Nelson; it was published in the April 30, 1981 issue.

Personally, while I was a regular reader of Rolling Stone in those days, Nelson’s name and work didn’t have quite the same impression upon me. In fact, I didn’t remember it at all.

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You can LISTEN to this interview with KEVIN AVERY, author and editor of EVERYTHING IS AN AFTERTHOUGHT: THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF PAUL NELSON and CONVERSATIONS WITH CLINT, by clicking the audio player above!

And, sadly for Avery and other Nelson fans, the legendary writer eventually faded away, a victim of his own inner demons and compulsions.

But Avery never forgot him. And when he relocated from Salt Lake City to Brooklyn in February 2006, Avery sent his idol a note suggesting they work together to compile a “best of” collection of Nelson’s work.

Nelson never responded – directly. I’ll let Avery tell you what happened in a moment. But it won’t spoil the suspense to say that Avery is the author-slash-editor of two new Nelson books, Everything is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson, and Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson’s Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood 1979-1983.

There is a truly compelling story here, whether you’re interest in pop music, film or the mysteries of the writing life. And Everything has a genuine bonus: the foreword is by my own literary idol, Nick Tosches.

: Order 'Everything Is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson' by clicking the book cover above

Kevin Avery Website • Order Conversations with Clint • Order Everything is an Afterthought

KEVIN AVERY audio excerpt: "Paul Nelson had a fascinating life. If we worked together, it would not have been the same book; being a very private man, Paul would not have revealed everything that I found out."

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TV tough guy Robert Conrad aims his fists at talk radio! (Video Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:32:12 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience that includes Brigadier General Moore, Colonel Lard, 1st Lt. Wiley, Capt. Gutterman, Lt. Anderson, Lt. Bob Boyle and 1st Lt. Bragg… in the NEW new media capital of the world, St. Petersburg, Florida! By Bob Andelman Mr. Media® Radio Network

via mrmedia.com

He’s the original TV tough guy.

He’s a formidable ladies man and unstoppable flirt.

And now in his late 70s – 70s! – Robert Conrad still doesn’t know the meaning of slow down and smell the flowers.

He’s in his third year as a weekend host on the CRN Digital Talk network – a podcaster, for cryin’ out loud! And you know what? He’s damned entertaining. There may be snow on the roof, but there is still fire in the heart.

Conrad, who became a household name when he starred in Hawaiian Eye and Wild Wild West, is at home in front of a microphone, sounding like a guy who has been doing radio all of his life.

I first heard about Conrad’s now vocation when he was interviewed on Stitcher’s “Meet The Talkers” with Matty Staudt. He was hysterically funny and blunt, gamely answering any and all questions.

Now it’s my turn.

Watch the interview HERE: http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=3636

Solis, Breakenridge put public back in public relations! (Audio Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 07:53:26 PST

By Bob Andelman Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher I have a lot of respect for the practitioners of public relations services. Publicists are responsible for many of the interviews you hear on Mr. Me

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on Mr. Media; they’re either pitching their clients to me or I go to them seeking their clients.

And in this show’s third year, I feel like every day I’m either getting schooled in PR 2.0—the web iteration of public relations—or getting spanked by it.

So I’m feeding a personal curiosity by inviting today’s guests, Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge.

Together, they are the co-authors of a new book, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR.

Separately, Solis is the principle behind FutureWorks, a PR and New Media agency in Silicon Valley. And Breakenridge is president of PFS Marketwyse, a New Jersey-based marketing communications agency.

Lisen to it HERE: http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=625

30 Rock star Kevin Brown-Dotcom!-tells tales on Tracy Morgan!

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:03:01 PST

By Bob Andelman Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher When Tracy Jordan’s bodyguards made their first entrance on NBC’s soon-to-be-a-hit “30 Rock,” you would have been excused for expecting them t

via mrmedia.com

to be a one-time sight gag. Who were these two men disguised as city skyscrapers?

But even as Tracy Jordan became more defined as the show developed in that first season, the roles of his entourage, Grizz and Dotcom, were refined and grew distinguished. The twin towers found their niche as brilliant supporting characters, one or the other often defining a scene with a shrug, an eye roll or a gentle quip. They, unlike Tracy—played by Tracy Morgan, of course—were in on the joke with the rest of us.

I had the good fortune to interview Grizz Chapman a few weeks ago and he must have said good things to his friend and partner Kevin Brown, who plays Dotcom, because he’s going to join us in a moment.

But who are Grizz and Dotcom?

The legend — and mystery — continues to grow, as I discovered in a video log featuring “30 Rock” creator Tina Fey.

I’ll do what I can to get to the bottom of this today.

Watch or listen to this interview HERE: http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=941

Mr. Media's Top Posts of 2011 (Shareaholic.com)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:23:33 PST

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher It's been a wildly successful year at Mr. Media® Interviews and here's the proof: a Top 15 list of the most popular audio and video interviews of the past 12 mo

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The most popular Mr. Media audio and video interviews of 2011 according to Shareaholic.com!

Check it out here: http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=3610

Not a cheap trick: Nick Tremulis and Candy Golde rock! (Video Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:32:52 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of true rock ‘n’ roll fans who have Paul Simon in permanent rotation alongside Richard Hell and the Voidoids … in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! By Bob Andelman Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email

via mrmedia.com

Candy Golde had me at “Bun E. Carlos.”

If this band is intriguing enough for the drummer of Cheap Trick to take a flyer on, who am I not to be curious?

The band, which includes John Stirratt of Wilco, Rick Rizzo of Eleventh Dream Day and my guest, Nick Tremulis, made its debut at South By Southwest in Austin this past March. Its self-titled debut EP, Candy Golde, is now available for download on iTunes and Amazon.

Its not uncommon for a new band to pick an old song to cover and make its own. Candy Golde went with a curious choice, Paul Simon’s infectious “Boy in the Bubble.” I’m very curious to know the thought process behind that!

Listen HERE: http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=1207

What would Rob Sachs do if stuck talking to Mr. Media for 30 minutes? (Video Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Andelman) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 17:20:45 PST

Mr. Media is recorded live from the NEW new media capitol of the world and hometown of not one but two public radio stations, WMNF and WUSF… Tampa Bay, Florida! By Bob Andelman Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android Ap

via mrmedia.com

Self-help books are okay if you don’t mind being seen reading them on planes, trains and automobiles.

Personally, I think some of them shout “Loser!”

And now that I’ve probably turned off half of our audience, I’ll go on.

Rob Sachs takes a different approach to teaching you something you don’t already know or understand. On his National Public Radio podcast, “What Would Rob Do?” — now in its fifth year — Sachs tackles the big challenges of the day, such as “What would you do if you clogged the toilet at a friend’s house?”

Oh, the horrors of that one.

Or consider an example from his show, in which he researched how to successfully eat hot peppers.

His podcast is a success so Rob Sachs did what anyone would do: he wrote a book. Just out in bookstores everywhere is What Would Rob Do?

LISTEN to it HERE: http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=951