Frank Pozen's Big Bad Blog

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Fallon Fox vs Alanna Jones

2013-05-25T12:54:00.001-04:00

Here's the match video of Fallon Fox vs Alanna Jones from last night's CFA show. Of course as we all know, Fallon is the transgender fighter. She won the fight as expected but it wasn't as easy as her previous fights. Someone suggested to me that she was sandbagging. That's the sort of thing I wouldn't put past her scumbag manager. But it makes no sense for her to sandbag in her first fight on national TV. She should want to win as quickly as possible. And it's not like Alanna Jones is an elite fighter. But it got to the third round before Fallon won with a knee on the throat submission. So what happened? For one thing, this was the first fight where Fallon's opponent knew in advance that she is transgender. That deception is my number one problem with Fallon Fox. And though Fallon was clearly winning the fight, she was gassed by the end of round one and just wasn't as aggressive as she needed to be to finish the fight early. So it allowed Alanna to hang in there. That lack of endurance will catch up to Fallon as she faces a higher caliber opponent. Her opponent in the final is Ashlee Evans-Smith and I'm sure she noticed that lack of endurance. Ashlee got a walkover last night when her opponent missed weight by a large amount. I won't even mention her name. She has missed weight repeatedly so I blame the promoter for hiring her in the first place. So what happens if Fallon Fox loses? I'm not sure it matters much. She still has licensing issues to hurdle. And even if she wins, I don't expect her to be in Invicta. Her manager is now banned from Invicta for inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour. And at the last Invicta show, Fallon got into an altercation with Bec Hyatt at the hotel which Bec detailed on her Facebook. So Fallon has plenty of problems. But she may not be that good a fighter anyway. The final of this tournament could be very pivotal. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Fly

2013-05-25T07:23:00.001-04:00

Artist:Fly
Song:Lady B
Album:Sky & Country

Back in the 90s, tenor sax player Mark Turner had a contract with Warner Bros. and looked like he was going to be the next big thing in jazz. But he stopped recording solo and instead has had great success recording as Fly with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. The history of pianoless trios in jazz goes back to the 50s with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker. It seems to be a California thing. Turner was born in Ohio but grew up in Southern California. His main influences are John Coltrane and Warne Marsh. He studied at Berklee and moved to New York in 1990. Turner first recorded as a leader in 1995 and recorded four CDs for Warner Bros. from 1998-2001. It was around this time that he met Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard. They both grew up in California and played together in high school. At the time they were working with Chick Corea. But Grenadier and Ballard are best known as the long time rhythm section for pianist Brad Mehldau. Fly recorded for Savoy Jazz in 2004 and then signed with ECM Records for the 2009 CD Sky & Country. The CD did well on the jazz charts. Their latest CD Year Of the Snake was released last year. Though all three guys do other things, Fly seems to have become their main band. Turner also records with the SF Jazz Collective. Grenadier and Ballard continue to record and tour with Mehldau. Grenadier also works with his jazz singer wife Rebecca Martin and Ballard works with Joshua Redman. And they all work regularly as sidemen. Jazz fans should check out Fly. Here's Fly performing Lady B at Jazzbaltica in Salzau, Germany July 4, 2010.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Fludd

2013-05-24T07:39:00.001-04:00

Artist:Fludd
Song:Cousin Mary
Album:From The Attic

Like a lot of 70s Canadian bands, Fludd had some success at home but were unable to break into the US market. Part of their problem is they bounced around three different record companies in a short period of time. There were also personnel and health issues that killed them by 1977. Cousin Mary is probably their best known song. Fludd started out in the mid-60s in Toronto as The Pretty Ones with Ed Pilling on vocals, his brother Brian Pilling on guitar and Greg Godovitz on bass. The Pilling brothers moved to Birmingham, England and formed Wages Of Sin with guitarist Mick Hopkins. Cat Stevens hired them as his band in 1967 and changed their name to Zeus. It looked like they were getting somewhere but Stevens got sick and the Pilling brothers returned to Toronto. They formed Fludd with Godovitz, drummer John Andersen and guitarist Mick Walsh. They signed with Warner Bros. and recorded with producer Adam Mitchell formerly of The Paupers. Though they did OK on the Canadian charts with singles like Turned 21 and Get Up, Get Out, Move On, their album didn't sell and Warners dropped them. Walsh had been replaced by Mick Hopkins but he returned to England when the band lost their record deal. Fludd added keyboard player Peter Csanky and signed with Daffodil Records. Label owner Frank Davies tried unsuccessfully to convince distributor Capitol Records to release Fludd's album with an album cover of a near naked band. The title was to be Cock On. That scared them and instead they released it with a generic cover. It didn't work but Davies gave Fludd a second chance. They went to England to record. And after Cousin Mary was a top 20 hit in Canada in 1973, they returned to Toronto to record a new album. When the single I Held Out wasn't a hit, Daffodil dropped them. Then Godovitz left and formed Goddo. Doni Underhill of Leigh Ashford replaced him. Then Brian Pilling was diagnosed with leukemia so they had to work around him. Meanwhile, former Warners promotion man Tom Williams was just starting Attic Records and he signed Fludd. They released the album Great Expectations featuring a pregnant woman's bare belly on the cover. The woman was Ed Pilling's sister in law. Toronto record stores refused to carry the album. The controversy killed the album. But Fludd was really killed by Brian Pilling's deteriorating health. He died June 28, 1978 at age 29. Some of the members joined Saga. Ed Pilling still leads a version of Fludd that plays gigs occasionally. His real job is as a contractor. Greg Godovitz had a lot of success with Goddo. Here's Fludd performing Cousin Mary at a 2004 charity concert.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Matt Cavenaugh and Josefina Scaglione

2013-05-23T07:28:00.004-04:00

Artist:Matt Cavenaugh and Josefina Scaglione
Song:Tonight
Album:West Side Story: The New Broadway Cast Recording

I'm sure that everyone knows that the songs for West Side Story were written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. But the book was written by Arthur Laurents. In 2007, Laurents got the idea to weave Spanish lyrics and dialogue into the show and revive the show on Broadway. He hired In The Heights composer and star Lin-Manuel Miranda to do the translations. Laurents directed the production which opened at the Palace Theater Mar. 19, 2009 and ran for almost two years. So it was very successful. Starring as Tony was musical theater veteran Matt Cavenaugh. His best known show before West Side Story was the 2006 production of Grey Gardens. He was also a regular on the daytime soap As The World Turns. He doesn't have the strongest voice and you can hear some of his flaws in his performance on the video. He is married to actress Jenny Powers and they have recorded a CD together. The story goes that Laurents was having trouble finding an actress to play Maria. Friends pointed him to a Youtube video of Josefina Scaglione performing Libertango. He flew her from her home in Argentina to New York and she won the role of Maria. Josefina was nominated for a Tony award. She has a great voice. Josefina appeared in the USA Network series Fairly Legal and she has other things in the works. The Broadway Cast CD for West Side Story won a Grammy and it is available. Here's Matt Cavenaugh and Josefina Scaglione performing Tonight at the Tony Awards Nomination Show May 19, 2009 at the Hudson Theater in New York City.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Steve Gadd And Friends

2013-05-22T07:43:00.002-04:00

Artist:Steve Gadd And Friends
Song:Way Back Home
Album:Live At Voce

Drummer Steve Gadd has played on hundreds of sessions for a who's who of the music business. But occasionally he has recorded as a leader. This 2009 CD is his most recent recording. He was born Apr. 9, 1945 in Irondequoit, NY which is a suburb of Rochester. His uncle was a drummer in the US Army and encouraged Gadd to take lessons. At age 11 he sat in with Dizzy Gillespie. Gadd says his influences are Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams and Rick Marotta. He studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester and by the late 60s he was working with Rochester native Chuck Mangione and his brother Gap. Gadd spent three years in the US Army music program. He moved to New York in the early 70s and has made his living as a session musician. In the 70s, he was a member of Stuff with Richard Tee, Eric Gale and Cornell Dupree and he toured with Paul Simon. In the 80s he toured with Al DiMeola and in the late 80s, Gadd recorded as a leader for the first time. The Gadd Gang featured Ronnie Cuber, Cornell Dupree, Richard Tee and Eddie Gomez. They recorded Way Back Home in 1989 which was written by Wilton Felder and first recorded by The Crusaders. In the 90s, Gadd toured and recorded with Eric Clapton and continues to work with him today. Live At Voce was released in 2009 and features Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax, Paul Bollenback on guitar and Joey DeFrancesco on organ. Edie Brickell appears on two tracks. It's available as a budget CD. Most recently he played on Kate Bush's 2011 comeback CD 50 Words for Snow and later this year he will release the CD Gadditude featuring pianist Larry Goldings. Steve Gadd is the legend you have probably never heard of. Here's Steve Gadd and The Gadd Gang performing Way Back Home at The Bottom Line in New York City 1989.

Star Trek Into Darkness review

2013-05-21T20:44:00.002-04:00

I have always been an old school Star Trek fan. I never liked The Next Generation and some of the other series. My favourite Star Trek film with the original cast was The Wrath Of Khan because Khan is a very strong villain. I never cared much for anonymous Klingons as bad guys. The idea behind the reinvention of the original Star Trek characters was to revive the franchise for a new generation and please old school fans like me with the original characters. And with Star Trek Into Darkness, J.J. Abrams has reinvented Khan so well that I expect him to be around for the next couple of films. The film begins with an action sequence where Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) saves a planet and Spock (Zachary Quinto) but breaks several Star Fleet rules and gets demoted to first officer of the USS Enterprise with Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) as captain. Spock is assigned to a different starship. When Pike is killed, Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller) gives the Enterprise back to him and reunites him with Spock and his crew. So the old gang is back together and soon they realize they are after their old enemy Khan. Khan is played by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch. He is best known for playing Sherlock Holmes on British TV. Khan has his gang in cryogenics ready to be thawed out to conquer the universe. Then Marcus turns out to be a rogue and his daughter Carol is an officer on the Enterprise. Carol is played by British actress Alice Eve and she could be a future love interest for Kirk. Some may have seen Alice in Sex and the City 2. The Enterprise is destroyed and it takes the ingenuity of Kirk and Scotty (Simon Pegg) and a couple of near deaths to get out of this spot. Then they go after Khan. Typically, the ending is left open for the inevitable third Star Trek film. I think anyone who liked the first film will like this one. And it has enough action and special effects to keep most science fiction fans happy. My only quibble is that Uhura (Zoe Saldana) mostly complains about her relationship with Spock. He's Spock. What do you expect? If you're a fan of these characters, you'll enjoy the film. And Cumberbatch is a great villain. Check out the trailer.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Hootie & The Blowfish

2013-05-21T07:21:00.004-04:00

Artist:Hootie & The Blowfish
Song:Let Her Cry
Album:The Best Of Hootie & The Blowfish: 1993 Thru 2003

Hootie & The Blowfish became overnight sensations with their 1994 debut CD Cracked Rear View and three top ten hit singles including Let Her Cry. Of course it's always hard to follow up on a successful debut so they faded fairly quickly. Hootie & The Blowfish were formed in 1986 at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Lead guitarist Mark Bryan heard Darius Rucker singing in the shower of their dorm and decided to work with him. At first they played local clubs as the Wolf Brothers. Bassist Dean Felber went to high school with Bryan and the band was completed when drummer Jim Sonefeld joined. The band name is a reference to Rucker's childhood friends who resembled an owl and a blowfish. Rucker got tired of people calling him Hootie. But that's what happens when the name of your band is confusing. They recorded demos and released an EP in 1993. And this led to a contract with Atlantic Records with producer Don Gehman who is best known for his work with John Mellencamp. There were three top ten singles from the album. Hold My Hand reached #10, Let Her Cry reached #9 and Only Wanna Be With You reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Cracked Rear View topped the Billboard Hot 200 and was certified 6XPlatinum. It was the biggest selling CD of 1995. Hootie & The Blowfish won the 1996 Best New Artist Grammy. That was going to be a tough act to follow. And the 1996 CD Fairweather Johnson did not do nearly as well but it was still certified 3XPlatinum. This pattern continued with the 1998 CD Musical Chairs. You can get all their hits on this budget comp including their cover of 54-40's I Go Blind which was on the soundtrack of the TV series Friends. Hootie & The Blowfish left Atlantic in 2003. After recording one album for Vanguard, the group split up in 2008. Darius Rucker signed with Capitol and has a successful country music career. Bryan and Sonefeld have recorded solo CDs and the band still reunites for charity gigs. But for a brief time, Hootie & The Blowfish were the hottest band in America. Here's the video for Let Her Cry by Hootie & The Blowfish.

JEWELS finally adds matches to May 25 show

2013-05-20T12:33:00.001-04:00

So the JEWELS show is on May 25 at Shinjuku FACE. The main event is Sugi Rock vs Ham Seo Hee at 48kg for number one contender for that title. They finally announced the rest of the card yesterday. It's mostly filler. Why did they wait so long? Because they are broke. Common sense says that when a business runs out of cash, it's time to close. But common sense is at a premium in the fight business. And promoters in Japan are very stubborn. Most of them would rather limp along ineffectually instead of cutting their losses. And that's why JEWELS has been running so much filler for the last year. They have added three MMA matches to the May 25 show. And the rest of it is ammy kickboxing, grappling etc. and JEWELS owner Yuichi Ozono is well aware that fans hate that stuff because he admitted that they have told him that. So these are the three MMA matches. In a match contracted for 53kg, Mika Nagano will face Takumi Umehara. Wait, didn't Nagano earn a shot at Ayaka Hamasaki's Lightweight Championship on the March show? Ayaka is not available as she is challenging Carla Esparza for her Invicta title. Umehara trains at Zendokai. She won her MMA debut on the March show over JEWELS matchmaker Yasuko Mogi. That was at a heavier weight too. In a match contracted for 52kg, VV Mei will face Korean kickboxer Jung Seo Ye. Jung lost her MMA debut to MIZUKI on the March show. Stuff like this is a waste of time. And in a match contracted for 65kg, Jade Marie Anderson will face Yurika Nakakura. Jade is a former California high school wrestling champ. She's an English teacher living in Korea and is a teammate of Ham Seo Hee at CMA Korea. She has beaten Megumi Yabushita twice. The second time was at the Apr. 21 Gladiator show. Jade filled in when a pro wrestler who was supposed to fight on the show dropped out at the last minute. Gladiator is co-owned by CMA Korea. I think Jade has potential but her association with CMA is a big problem. They aren't trustworthy so no one likes to do business with them. Nakakura is making her MMA debut. As I said, the rest of the show is filler.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Hugh Jackman

2013-05-20T07:44:00.000-04:00

Artist:Hugh Jackman
Song:I Still Call Australia Home
Album:The Boy From Oz: A Decca Broadway Original Cast Album

Though Hugh Jackman is best known as Wolverine in the X-Men films, he has always done musical theater and he won a Tony award for his performance in the 2003 show The Boy From Oz. I Still Call Australia Home is a big patriotic song. He was born Oct. 12, 1968 in Sydney, Australia. He started performing in school but didn't consider acting as a possible career until he graduated from college. His big break was in the 1995 TV series Correlli. The show didn't last long but he married his co-star Deborah Lee-Furness. Then he appeared in Australian productions of musicals like Beauty and the Beast and Sunset Boulevard. In 1998, he starred in the London production of Oklahoma! and was nominated for an Olivier award. He also starred in the film version of Oklahoma!. Then Jackman was cast as Wolverine in the X-Men. The film was huge and Jackman became a star. But Jackman has always returned to the stage. The Boy From Oz is a musical based on the life of Aussie singer songwriter Peter Allen. Allen is a legend in Australia but he was never a star here. He has had a lot of success as a record producer and songwriter. The Boy From Oz was a big hit when it ran in Australia in 1998. When it was brought to Broadway in 2003, they needed a big star for the lead and they signed Jackman. It was a hit and Jackman won a Tony award. The Boy From Oz ran for a year. Peter Allen wrote and recorded I Still Call Australia Home in 1980. The song became popular in Australia when it was used in a Qantas commercial and it's now a patriotic standard. Though Jackman is very busy in films, he still returns to the stage occasionally in things like his one man show Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway. I'm sure if he gets the opportunity, he will return to musical theater in the future. He seems to really enjoy it. Here's Hugh Jackman with Olivia Newton-John, Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe performing I Still Call Australia Home on an Oprah Winfrey Australia special. Yes, Oprah is annoying but the clip gives an idea about how Aussies feel about this song.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Rin Nakai vs Brenda Gonzalez

2013-05-19T20:47:00.000-04:00

Here's the match video from today's PANCRASE show with Queen of PANCRASE Rin Nakai facing King of the Cage champ Brenda Gonzalez. As someone said the other day, remember when King of the Cage meant something. It is typical of Japanese promotions to bring over gaijin fighters to lose to their ace. They announce it to the Japanese media. "Look, we brought over a fighter from America." But those of us who have covered the Japanese business for a long time know how they work. It's not new. There have been occasional upsets but not usually. Brenda Gonzalez clearly doesn't have the experience to handle a fighter of Rin's caliber. Obviously Brenda knew she was the underdog because at the open workout the other day she said "I didn't come here to lose." But she was brought to Japan to lose. PANCRASE should bring over better opposition...but they won't. Several fans have asked me about the winged costume Rin wore to the ring. It's a promotion PANCRASE is doing for a video game. I also read that PANCRASE has a Rin Nakai mobile app in the works. So at the start of the fight the two fighters are circling around not doing anything. Remember there isn't much footage of Brenda out there. Rin knows Brenda is a boxer but she couldn't watch her fights. I can understand her caution. Both fighters were waiting for the other to make the first move. The ref got tired of this and admonished both fighters for not doing anything. Brenda finally made the first move with a wild spinning back fist. This was the opening Rin was looking for and it was pretty much over after that. A violent takedown followed. It looks like Brenda broke her arm. Then Rin went for the rear naked choke and it's over. It's doubtful that Brenda would have been able to come out for the second round. Fighting someone like Rin Nakai with one arm is not a good idea. Rin did her trademark "air dancing" after her win. Fans have asked me about that. Rin was a competitive gymnast as a child. So now we can all look forward to more goofy weekly Rin Nakai videos on Youtube. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tituss Burgess

2013-05-19T11:28:00.003-04:00

Artist:Tituss Burgess
Song:Under The Sea
Album:Disney's The Little Mermaid: Original Broadway Cast Recording

Disney has adapted several hit films for the Broadway stage. They first did this in 1994 with Beauty and the Beast. They continue to do this because the shows have been very successful. The Little Mermaid premiered on Broadway in 2008. The 1989 film was very popular and Under The Sea even won a Best Original Song Oscar. The problem with turning The Little Mermaid into a musical was the same that they had with Beauty and the Beast. It didn't have a lot of songs so it needed more songs to be a musical. The film's songs were written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Disney contacted Menken about writing new songs for the musical. But Ashman died in 1991. So Menken brought in Glenn Slater. The two had worked together on Sister Act The Musical. The show premiered Jan. 10, 2008 and closed on Aug. 30, 2009. That's a pretty good run and regional productions are very popular worldwide. The stars of the Broadway production included Sierra Boggess, Sean Palmer and Sherie Rene Scott. Tituss Burgess played Sebastian the Crab and sang the popular song Under The Sea. Burgess is from Athens, GA and he made his Broadway debut in the 2005 show Good Vibrations which is about The Beach Boys. He also appeared in Jersey Boys and the 2009 revival of Guys and Dolls. Sebastian is his best known role and the Broadway cast album of The Little Mermaid is available on CD. Burgess had a recurring role on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. He is currently promoting his new self released CD Comfortable. Here's Tituss Burgess performing Under The Sea on Good Morning America Jan. 10, 2008.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jose Gonzalez

2013-05-18T07:26:00.002-04:00

Artist:Jose Gonzalez
Song:Slow Moves
Album:Veneer

Don't let his name fool you. Singer songwriter Jose Gonzalez is from Sweden. He has had success in England and you may have heard his music on TV. He is very similar to Elliott Smith or Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters. Currently Gonzalez is a member of Junip and is not active as a solo artist. His parents moved from Argentina to Sweden after the 1976 Dirty War. His father is a psychology professor. Gonzalez was born in Gothenberg, Sweden in 1978. He grew up listening to Latin music and his favourite artist is Cuban singer Silvio Rodriguez. As a teen, he played in punk bands like Back Against The Wall, Renascence and Only If You Call Me Jonathan. While studying biochemistry at the University of Gothenberg, he started playing clubs as a solo act and released a single in 2003. This got him a deal with the Swedish label Imperial Records. His 2003 debut CD Veneer got enough attention that Gonzalez signed with the British label Mute Records for wider distribution. The album did very well in England and Sweden. The album is just Gonzalez and his guitar. And as I said, his sound is very similar to Elliott Smith or Mark Kozelek. He had a top ten single in England with his 2006 cover of The Knife song Heartbeats. In the US, his songs have appeared on TV shows like The O.C. and Friday Night Lights. Gonzalez recorded a second CD In Our Nature in 2007. In 2005, he formed Junip with drummer Elias Araya and keyboard player Tobias Winterkorn. For a few years Gonzalez was performing solo and as part of Junip. But on his website, Gonzalez says he is not a solo artist right now. Junip released a new CD Junip last month. They are currently on tour. It seems like he prefers being in a band. Either way, Jose Gonzalez is recommended to folk music fans. Here's Jose Gonzalez performing Slow Moves at radio station KCRW in Los Angeles.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bob Welch

2013-05-17T07:46:00.002-04:00

Artist:Bob Welch
Song:Sentimental Lady
Album:70s Music Explosion: Magic

Bob Welch is known for his days as a member of the early 70s edition of Fleetwood Mac. Sentimental Lady was a top ten hit in 1976 and is considered to be his signature song. He had mixed success otherwise and he died tragically. He was born Aug. 31, 1945 in Los Angeles and grew up in a showbiz family. His father Robert L. Welch was a producer at Paramount Pictures and his mother Templeton Fox was an actress. Welch got interested in music as a teen and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and then at UCLA. Welch said he mostly smoked weed in Paris. In the 60s, Welch was a member of the unsuccessful group The Seven Souls. When they split up in 1969, Bobby Watson and Tony Maiden formed Rufus. Welch moved to Paris and formed the unsuccessful band Head West. In 1971, he was invited to join Fleetwood Mac after Peter Green left. Christine McVie joined at the same time. Welch became a bigger part of the band after Danny Kirwin left in 1972. Sentimental Lady was on the 1972 Fleetwood Mac album Bare Trees. When Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974, Welch left though he was asked to stay. Welch formed Paris with recording engineer Jimmy Robinson and former Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick. They recorded two unsuccessful albums. Welch was going to record a third Paris album. But it turned into his first solo album French Kiss. Sentimental Lady reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. French Kiss was certified Platinum. Subsequent albums did not do as well. And in the early 80s, Welch was addicted to cocaine. There is a Best Of Bob Welch on Rhino but it's expensive. Beware of CDs with rerecorded versions of Sentimental Lady. This Time Life 2CD various artists comp will suit most fans. Bob Welch recorded occasionally over the years. He sued Fleetwood Mac over royalties in 1994. It was settled out of court. As a result, when Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, Welch was not invited to attend. Later he would reconcile with John McVie. Bob Welch had spinal surgery in 2012. When he was told that he would be an invalid, he committed suicide by gunshot on June 7, 2012 at age 66. Here's the video for Sentimental Lady by Bob Welch.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Paul Brandt

2013-05-16T07:42:00.001-04:00

Artist:Paul Brandt
Song:I Do
Album:What I Want To Be Remembered For

Country singer Paul Brandt is very successful in his native Canada. He had his biggest international success with I Do in 1996. This is a big wedding song. He was born Paul Rennee Belobersycky July 21, 1972 in Calgary, AB and grew up in the suburb of Airdrie. Brandt's musical influences are neo traditionalists like Dwight Yoakam and George Strait. He grew up singing in church. While entering local talent contests, Brandt worked as a nurse at Alberta Children's Hospital. His big break came when he won a national talent contest sponsored by publishing clearance house SOCAN, the Canadian version of ASCAP. Warner Bros. in Canada sent his demo to Warner Bros. Nashville and Brandt signed a record deal with the Warner label Reprise. They brought him to Nashville to work with producer Josh Leo who has worked with Alabama and Kathy Mattea. Brandt's 1996 debut single My Heart Has A History reached #5 on the Country Singles chart. I Do did even better and reached #2. And it's a popular wedding song. The album Calm Before The Storm was certified Gold. Subsequent albums and singles didn't do as well and he left Reprise after recording three albums. This comp was released only in Canada. Brandt started his own label Brand-T Records with distribution in Canada from Universal. His latest CD Just As I Am was released Oct. 2012. It's a gospel CD. He continues to tour in Canada. So he's doing OK and I'm sure I Do generates plenty of royalties. Here's the video for I Do by Paul Brandt.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Vince Gill

2013-05-15T07:47:00.002-04:00

Artist:Vince Gill
Song:I Still Believe In You
Album:Icon

Vince Gill started out in bluegrass and became one of the most popular country artists of the 90s and also one of country music's finest voices. I Still Believe In You was the first of his four number one country hits in 1992. He was born Apr. 12, 1957 in Norman, OK. His father was a judge who played music on the side. Gill played in bluegrass bands as a teen and then moved to Louisville in 1975 to join Bluegrass Alliance and then Ricky Skaggs' band Boone Creek. Then he moved to Los Angeles to join Sundance led by violinist Byron Berline. In 1979 he became the new lead singer for Pure Prairie League and sang lead on the hit Let Me Love You Tonight. Then he joined Rodney Crowell's band where he met Tony Brown. Brown helped him get a record deal with RCA. Then he moved to Nashville with his wife Janis Oliver of Sweethearts of the Rodeo. Gill had moderate success on RCA and he worked as a session musician and wrote songs for others. In 1989, he left RCA for MCA to reunite with Tony Brown who was now a producer at MCA. It paid off when When I Call Your Name reached #2 on the Country Singles chart in 1990. it was his biggest hit to date. Gill continued to place higher in the charts until I Still Believe In You became his first number one country music hit in 1992. Gill wrote the song with session musician John Barlow Jarvis. He had a total of four number one hits from the album I Still Believe In You, his most successful album to date. You can get all his hits on this budget comp. He continued to have success in the 90s. But then there were rumours that his marriage was in trouble and he was having an affair with Christian singer Amy Grant. It turned out to be true. He divorced Janis in 1998 and married Amy in 2000. Gill continued to record for MCA but wasn't as successful. He left MCA in 2012 and joined The Time Jumpers. This is a band of session musicians and they released an album on Rounder Records last year. Among the members are "Ranger" Doug Green of Riders In The Sky. They are currently on tour. Vince Gill may have been a star in the 90s but he has always been a great musician and a team player. Here's the video for I Still Believe In You by Vince Gill.

The Great Gatsby review

2013-05-14T20:53:00.000-04:00

I went with my niece to see The Great Gatsby today. She is a big Leonardo DiCaprio fan. I am a Baz Luhrman fan. His films are always visually striking though his storytelling can be shaky. And that's true of The Great Gatsby. The main problem is it's way too long at 148 minutes. It begins and ends well but the middle of the film sags. It seemed to lose its way and then recovered in the last half hour. Of course everyone knows that the film is based on the famed novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald about the enigmatic Jay Gatsby. The story is told in flashback by Gatsby's best friend Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire). Carraway's psychiatrist suggest that he write a book about Gatsby. The film is set in the 1920s so the visuals are outstanding. A lot of credit goes to cinematographer Simon Duggan and Oscar winning production and costume designer Catherine Martin. She is married to Luhrman and has worked on all his films. Carraway observes the complicated relationship between Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), his former lover Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) and her current husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Not surprisingly, the relationship turns volatile and it doesn't seem like any of them knows what they want to do. And there is also Gatsby's involvement in organized crime. This was before the 1929 stock market crash. The wealthy like Gatsby were seemingly very carefree and were always hosting wild parties. We get to see the underlying tension beneath that. It takes too long to get there but eventually those tensions between these characters comes to the surface and things pick up at the end of the film. In the end, we're supposed to be conflicted about Gatsby and I think the film is very successful in portraying him as ambiguous. DiCaprio gets a lot of credit for that. I just think the film takes too long to tell the story. I also didn't care much for the use of rap music in this film. It's a period piece. Use period music. And I didn't think the 3D helped the film. The Great Gatsby is a good film but not a great film. Check out the trailer.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ben Howard

2013-05-14T07:33:00.002-04:00

Artist:Ben Howard
Song:Keep Your Head Up
Album:Every Kingdom

Ben Howard's debut CD Every Kingdom has done well in his native England. He is making progress in North America. Keep Your Head Up was used in the hit film Safe Haven. He was born Apr. 24, 1987 in London. He grew up listening to his mother's collection of folk music records. He got into surfing at age 11 and his family moved to Devon so he could go to the beach. He wrote for a surfing magazine. Shades of Jack Johnson. But he was able to work on his music playing for audiences in the surfing community. By 2008, he became a full time musician. He sounds a lot like legendary British folksinger John Martyn. He released a couple of EPs independently and signed with Island Records. Every Kingdom is his 2011 debut CD. It reached #4 on the British Album chart and some of his songs got radio play including Keep Your Head Up. The CD was nominated for The Mercury Prize. Howard won two 2013 BRIT Awards for British Breakthrough Act and British Solo Male Artist. He released The Burgh Island EP in Oct. 2012. So now Island has to figure out how to sell him in the US. Put one of his songs in a movie. Keep Your Head Up appeared on the soundtrack of Safe Haven. It was directed by Lasse Hallstrom and is based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks who also wrote The Notebook. The stars are Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel. So the film is clearly aimed at women. And though it was slammed by critics, it grossed $91M so it did well. So the hope is fans of the film will become Ben Howard fans when they hear him on the soundtrack. Ben Howard is currently touring England and he seems to have a bright future. Here's the video for Keep Your Head Up by Ben Howard.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Natsuki*Taiyo vs Yuhi

2013-05-13T19:58:00.001-04:00

I've had a chance to watch some of the matches from STARDOM's Apr. 29 Sumo Hall show. I posted the video of the main event of Io Shirai vs Alpha Female the other day. This match with Natsuki*Taiyo defending the High Speed Championship against Yuhi is the best match on the show. What is the High Speed Championship? It's a pointless belt that NEO started a few years ago and STARDOM bought it from them. But this match is pretty good. Natsuki*Taiyo has been attached to Nanae Takahashi's hip for the last few years. I've always described her as similar to Momoe Nakanishi but not as talented. Who is? But she's a good wrestler. STARDOM has turned her heel. Yuhi is a young girl who trained at Zero One. But they don't have a women's division so she works frequently for STARDOM. She debuted last year and I liked her the first time I saw her. She's only 17 years old and she is pretty good already. Her skill level is much higher than STARDOM's own idol wrestlers. Natsuki*Taiyo can really move and Yuhi has no trouble keeping up with her. It's a sprint but that's what High Speed Championship matches are supposed to be. The other matches on the show just aren't as good. The worst was Kairi Hojo & Natsumi Showzuki vs Kyoko Kimura & Hailey Hatred. The two teams don't mesh well probably because of Hojo & Showzuki's inexperience. And they botched the ending. They should have done it over. Dark Angel won the Wonder Of STARDOM belt over Act Yasukawa. Sarah Stock tries very hard to make Act look good but Act just isn't very good at the physical part of pro wrestling yet. She has some of the acting down but she has to do both. Also, her costume is terrible. She may have bigger problems has Act is out with a back injury. The Yuzuki Aikawa retirement match was the same as any of Aikawa's other matches because she only has three moves and keeps repeating them. I didn't watch the retirement ceremony. I don't want to see her again. The six girl match that ran as a buffer between the Aikawa retirement ceremony and the main event was a mish mash and a waste of Hiroyo Matsumoto's talent. She deserves to be in a better match. And I also watched the debut match of Takumi Ihora vs Meiko Satomura. Satomura may look the same as she looked when she was really good. But she can't wrestle the way she used to. Maybe it's time to retire. Ihora doesn't have the typical idol look of most of the STARDOM roster so they given her the goofy Hikaru look. I hope she's a better wrestler than Hikaru. So STARDOM owner Hiroshi Ogawa's attempt to turn bikini model Yuzuki Aikawa into the new Fuuka is officially over. But I doubt he has learned his lesson. Enjoy the video!
06. Natsuki*Taiyo (c) vs Yuhi - (STARDOM 04/29/13) by SenorLARIATO

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Junkhouse

2013-05-13T07:36:00.002-04:00

Artist:Junkhouse
Song:Out Of My Head
Album:Strays

Junkhouse had some success in the mid-90s in their native Canada. Attempts to break the US market were unsuccessful. They were from Hamilton, ON. Lead singer and guitarist Tom Wilson had a band in the late 80s called Florida Razors. They were a new wave rockabilly band. When they split up, he formed Junkhouse with Dan Achen on guitar, Russ Wilson on bass and Ray Farrugia on drums. They went on tour with the popular band Crash Vegas and this led to a record deal with Sony. Strays was their debut CD in 1993 and Out Of My Head was the first single. The video became popular on MuchMusic and Junkhouse went on tour with Soul Asylum. The CD was produced by veteran Canadian producer Malcolm Burn and most of the songs including Out Of My Head were written by Curtis "Sauce" Wilson of the R & B group Somethin' For The People. Junkhouse was probably too offbeat to become really popular. But they did OK in Canada. They were featured in the popular Canadian TV series Due South. Strays is available as a budget CD. Junkhouse's 1995 CD Birthday Boy featured Burned Out Car featuring Sarah McLachlan. But the band started to have problems. Russ Wilson left in 1996 and was replaced by Grant Marshall. Tom Wilson recorded with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Former Crash Vegas guitarist Colin Cripps joined Junkhouse to keep them together. They split up after the 1997 CD Fuzz. Tom Wilson had a lot of success with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. His current band is LeE HARVeY OsMOND. Dan Achen opened a recording studio in Hamilton. His niece Leslie Feist and Alexisonfire were among those who recorded there. Achen died of a heart attack while playing hockey on Mar. 15, 2010. Here's the video for Out Of My Head by Junkhouse.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Andre Dassary

2013-05-12T07:34:00.002-04:00

Artist:Andre Dassary
Song:Ramuntcho
Album:Etoiles De La Chanson

Andre Dassary was known in France as Le Tenor a la Voix D'or which translates to The Golden Tenor. He was successful mostly in the 40s. Ramuntcho is from a 1947 film where he played the title character. He was born Andre Deyherassary Sept. 10, 1912 in Biarritz, Basque. His father wanted him to be in the hospitality industry so Dassary moved to London. While in the military during the 30s, he discovered singing and attended the Bourdeaux Conservatory. He was also on the French rugby team at the 1937 World University Games. In 1938, he started singing on the radio. A meeting with orchestra leader Ray Ventura got him into movies. Dassary made several films in the 40s mostly to showcase his operatic singing voice. Ramuntcho is from the 1947 film The Marriage Of Ramuntcho. These kind of films were very popular in France. So for a while, Dassary was a big star. He continued to make films and appear in music halls in the 50s. He also gave Yves Montand his first break. Dassary also moved to Montreal in the 60s to further the acting career of daughter Evelyn Dandry. Dassary moved back to France and continued to appear on the stage until his death July 7, 1987 at age 74. This budget comp is a good intro to his music. Here's Andre Dassary performing Ramuntcho from the 1947 film The Marriage of Ramuntcho. Thanks to Music-Story for the Andre Dassary bio.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Io Shirai vs Alpha Female

2013-05-11T14:54:00.000-04:00

On today's edition of Big Bad Blog Video Theater, I have Alpha Female defending the World Of Stardom championship against Io Shirai. This was the main event of STARDOM's Apr. 29 Sumo Hall show. I guess the thing that should impress most fans right at the start is the size difference. Alpha Female is the German monster heel at six feet tall and 180lbs. And Io Shirai is 5'3" and weighs 120lbs. And they showed a clip where Alpha Female beat Io in a tag team match. So on the surface it looks like a mismatch. But as I said when this match was announced, there was no way that Alpha Female was going to keep that title because she's not in Japan all the time. And with the retirement of Yuzuki Aikawa, STARDOM needed a new ace who isn't Nanae Takahashi. I can assure you that the original plan was for Aikawa to win this title. So how do they have Io beat Alpha Female so it doesn't look like a fluke. First you have to have Alpha Female control the match and make it look like she's going to destroy Io. There were plenty of near falls. And if you're going to ask me about the ref's slow count, all Japanese refs count like that. And there is usually a delay before the three count. The only way Io can beat Alpha Female is to use her quickness and athleticism. And this leads to a series of kicks including a spinning back kick to the head to give the win to Io Shirai. This is her first title belt ever so it's not surprising that she is bawling her eyes out after the match. I think Io Shirai could be a great champion. She has worked very hard over the past couple of years to improve her ring skills. she just turned 23 years old so she's still young. STARDOM hasn't announced the first challenger. They just announced an upcoming tour and Io is on the shows but in tag matches. We have to see how they book her. All the matches from this show have been posted on Daily Motion. I have only watched this one so far but I may post a couple of other videos after I watch them. But I wanted to post this one first. Congratulations to Io Shirai on the big win. Enjoy the video!
09. Alpha Female (c) vs Io Shirai - (STARDOM 04... by SenorLARIATO

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Alt-J

2013-05-11T07:40:00.002-04:00

Artist:Alt-J
Song:Breezeblocks
Album:An Awesome Wave

The British band Alt-J released their major label debut last year. They are getting some buzz but time will tell if they can be a long term success. The members of Alt-J met at Leeds University in 2007. Lead singer and guitarist Joe Newman showed some of his songs to bassist Gwil Sainsbury and they formed Alt-J with classmates Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards) and Thom Green (drums). The name Alt-J results in a delta symbol when pressed on an Apple Mac OS keyboard. After graduation, Alt-J moved to Cambridge. They released an EP independently in 2011 and this led to a record deal with Infectious Records. Former RCA exec Korda Marshall started Infectious when parent company Mushroom was sold to Warner Music. Alt-J's debut CD an Awesome Wave was released in England May 2012. It did well enough that Canvasback Music picked it up for US distribution through Atlantic Records and released it on Sept. 2012. Breezeblocks is their most successful song to date. It has an interesting video that runs in reverse time. An Awesome Wave won the 2012 Mercury Prize and was named album of the year by BBC Radio 6 Music. They have been very successful in Australia. Critics attempting to pigeonhole Alt-J as rock or folk have not really done them justice. They are a mix of several musical styles. Alt-J is currently on a world tour and they have announced plans to score actor Toby Jones' upcoming film Leave To Remain. The song Buffalo appeared in the film Silver Linings Playbook. Alt-J is an interesting band but one never knows about longevity. Here's the video for Breezeblocks by Alt-J.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Faces

2013-05-10T07:26:00.003-04:00

Artist:Faces
Song:Stay With Me
Album:The Best Of Faces: Good Boys...When They're Asleep

The history of Faces is complicated because it overlaps with Rod Stewart establishing his solo career. And that solo career eventually killed Faces though Stewart tried to do both. One thing is for sure. Stay With me is a classic rocker and Faces' biggest hit. When Steve Marriott left Small Faces in 1969, Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane (bass) and Kenney Jones (drums) decided to remain together. Rod Stewart was already known as lead singer of The Jeff Beck Group and Ronnie Wood played guitar. These five formed Quiet Melon with Wood's older brother Art Wood and Kim Gardner. They recorded four songs that were rejected by Fontana Records. Art Wood quit the music business and Gardner went on to form Ashton, Gardner & Dyke. But the rest of the band stayed together as Faces. Warner Bros. wanted to keep the Small Faces name but the guys thought the band was much different so they settled on Faces. The band was very successful. The 1971 album A Nod Is As Good As A Wink...To A Blind Horse reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 200 and was certified Gold. Stay With Me was their biggest hit. it reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. But Stewart became a big solo star at the same time. Ronnie Lane left Faces in 1973 because he thought Stewart had become bigger than the band. He was replaced by Tetsu Yamauchi of Free. Faces continued until Wood started working with The Rolling Stones in 1975. That split up Faces for good. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. Ronnie Lane had a brief solo career and then was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He died in 1997. Jones joined The Who after Keith Moon's death. McLagan moved to the US to play sessions. He is currently a member of Billy Bragg's band. Faces reunited with Mick Hucknall of Simply Red on vocals and Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols on bass in 2010. That band toured but didn't record. Faces were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2012. Here's Faces performing Stay With Me 1971.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dennis Wilson

2013-05-09T12:05:00.002-04:00

Artist:Dennis Wilson
Song:Farewell My Friend
Album:Pacific Ocean Blue: Legacy Edition

Most fans know Dennis Wilson as the drummer for The Beach Boys. But you may not know that he was the first Beach Boy to release a solo album in 1978. Pacific Ocean Blue wasn't successful at the time but is now considered to be a classic. Dennis was born Dec. 4, 1944 in Marina Del Rey, CA. When The Beach Boys were formed in the early 60s, Dennis became the drummer by default. His brother Brian Wilson wrote most of the songs and cousin Mike Love was lead singer most of the time. By the late 60s, Dennis started writing songs and some of them appeared on albums like Sunflower and Holland. He started working on Pacific Ocean Blue in 1970 but it was interrupted when he appeared in the 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop. It was also delayed by The Beach Boys touring schedule. He returned to it in 1976 and the album was released in Aug. 1977. It was critically acclaimed but did not sell. Carl Wilson played guitar and Daryl Dragon of Captain & Tennille wrote the arrangements. Farewell My Friend was written as a tribute to Carl Wilson's father in law Otto Hinsche. He was the father of Billy Hinsche of Dino, Desi & Billy. A planned tour never happened. In 1978, Dennis started working on his second album Bambu. Two songs from those sessions appeared on the 1979 Beach Boys album L.A. (Light Album). Dennis' alcohol addiction was getting worse. On Dec. 29, 1983, Dennis had been drinking on his yacht. He drowned at age 39 after diving into the ocean off Marina Del Rey. In 2008, Sony released a 2CD edition of Pacific Ocean Blue with the previously unreleased Bambu recordings on the second CD. This is recommended to Beach Boys fans. Director Randall Miller plans the Dennis Wilson biopic The Drummer starring Aaron Eckhart. It looks like Miller will shoot this after his current film CBGB is done. Here's a video for Farewell My Friend by Dennis Wilson.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tracy Chapman

2013-05-08T07:35:00.002-04:00

Artist:Tracy Chapman
Song:Give Me One Reason
Album:Collection

Folksinger Tracy Chapman was an unlikely success story. When she emerged in the 80s with Fast Cars, folksingers were not in vogue. I would have thought Fast Cars was her biggest hit but her 1996 comeback single Give Me One Reason's chart placing was slightly higher. Both were top ten hits. She was born Mar. 30, 1964 in Cleveland and learned to play guitar as a child. While attending Tufts University, she started playing local coffeehouses in Boston. She was spotted by fellow Tufts student Brian Koppleman. Well, that was her lucky day. Koppleman's father is veteran music exec Charles Koppleman who at the time owned SBK Publishing. He got her a record deal with Elektra Records. Tracy Chapman was her debut album in 1988. Fast Cars became a hit after Tracy performed it on the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium in London June 11, 1988. Fox broadcast it in the US. Fast Cars reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Tracy Chapman topped the Billboard Hot 200 and was certified 6XPlatinum. Tracy's second album Crossroads was certified Platinum but it didn't perform as well. And she continued to fade with the 1992 album Matters Of The Heart. Tracy was criticized for being too politically active. That's what happens when an artist's first single is a smash. It's hard to follow that. And Tracy Chapman was not a commercial artist anyway. Any hit single was a bonus. So she got lucky again when Give Me One Reason reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1996. It wasn't even a new song. She had performed it on a 1989 episode of Saturday Night Live. But she didn't record it until 1995. She got lucky a second time. This comp is a good intro to her music. Tracy Chapman last recorded in 2008 on Atlantic after Elektra was closed. I don't know if she is still on Atlantic. Tracy Chapman still tours and is a social activist. Here's the video for Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman. Music fans will recognize jazz singer Dianne Reeves in the video.