I got my copies of this month’s Rebel Ink magazine with my Koffin Kats photos, and to say I’m pleased with their use of my work is pretty much the understatement of the century. I can’t remember ever having not one criticism of how photos were used in the past. Ever.
Thanks to my NBC Examiner gig, I got to interview Silas Weir Mitchell of “Grimm” this week. First and foremost, not only do I love this show, but I am convinced his character, Monroe, is the best character on TV right now. To say I was thrilled was an understatement.
And I wasn’t disappointed.
Normally, I shy away from the old Q&A format of just regurgitating an interview verbatim, but this one begged for it. I had asked Silas about similarities between his quirky character and his real life persona, and he mentioned their minds work in very similar ways.
“It kind of bounces around a little bit, you know, and then once it latches on to something, it will bore all the way into it, like the clock making or the Pilates or the vegan thing or, you know, but when it’s not anchored, it kind of skitters around. My mind is like that. If I don’t have something to really focus on, I can kind of, think about five things to do at once. You know what I mean?”
Then he proceeded to demonstrate that aforementioned principle multiple times in the interview, which I found very Monroe-like. And I’m not about to edit that down to something more standard.
We also had a rather funny moment when he was patched through by his agent on the phone, and he was having a very hard time hearing me, so he was trying to be really quiet. And I was yelling into the phone.
Silas: I’ll just stay really still and not move.
Me: You stay still and I’ll scream.
(awkward silence)
Me: Okay, that sounded kind of weird
Silas: I wasn’t going to go there…
Anyway, if you aren’t watching the show, catch up with it here. And here’s a video homage to everyone’s favorite big bad wolf, Monroe.
I’ve added on a new title at Examiner.com as their National NBC Examiner. I freely admit I wanted it to just to get my grubby little paws on “The Voice,” but am enjoying covering some other shows, like “The Biggest Loser,” “Grimm,” and oh yeah, that little show where celebrities try to impress a business mogul for charity. But yeah, it’s all about “The Voice” — I’m always down to find an excuse to talk music. I just interviewed contestant Angie Johnson today and will be talking to Juliette Sims Monday, both from Team Cee Lo. Nice gig, huh?
Note: This photo really has nothing to do with the post, other than a homage to random good fortune. But I like pictures so I wanted one on it.
I am having the oddest day today.
I spent the morning writing up some new articles for my CMT Examiner site when I got off work. Then I went to one of their phone trainings, then things got really weird.
I’m getting emails from Chuck Ragan’s rep asking me to write something up for No Depression for him. Grammy nominee Linda Chorney is messaging me on Facebook to say hello. I respond to emails from a publicist at CMT to set up interviews with Paige Duke and some of their other reality show casts. My editor at Yahoo!Movies sends me the nicest message about setting up a special beat for me because he so loves what I’m writing for them. I’m querying Miranda Lambert’s, and Trace Adkins and The Band Perry’s and Keith Urban’s reps for photos and maybe interviews if I can dare hope — I’m doing that because instead of spending most of my time trying to find the right people, my contact person at Examiner just basically handed me the keys to the country kingdom in the form of the CORRECT contacts for every major country artist on the planet.
After spending five years struggling just to get the right contacts in rock and roll to finally get somewhere, that last one alone is enough to make a grown woman cry.
It’s been a very surreal day, indeed.
I’ve returned to Examiner.com, which seems to be doing good things these days after a rocky patch a couple of years ago, and happy to have come on board as their National CMT Examiner. At the moment, I’m mostly covering their original TV series, “Sweet Home Alabama,” Bayou Billionaires,” “Swanderosa,” and “My Big Redneck Vacation,” but hope to be adding some interviews and really cool features soon, once I get properly settled in. Below are a few links to read up on the shows, as they have some good ones over there at CMT. And family-friendly, for those where that is a concern.
My interview with Beverly McClellan, a Season 1 finalist for “The Voice,” is up at Yahoo!TV. Ms. Beverly is quite a character, and was bursting with great quotes — as I was transcribing the interview, I noticed I spent more time laughing than asking questions. Please check out the interview here, as well as one I did with semi-finalist Casey Weston.
If I seem to be stalking former contestants for the show, there’s a reason: I am covering “The Voice” for Yahoo!TV and wholeheartedly admit to being a huge fan of the show, which is much more surprising if you know I am a music snob and normally loathe music contests — I personally hold “American Idol” and Simon Cowell responsible for a great deal of the downfall of good music in general.
This is going to sound crazy, but “The Voice” is one of the things that have recently made me really re-discover my love of music, after serious burnout covering the music industry for several years. I highly recommend you check out the archives of Season 1 before season 2 launches after the Super Bowl. Click here for the Season 1 archives at NBC.com.
I got to sit down and chat via phone with one my favorite contestants from Season 1 of “The Voice” and the interview is posted now here.
Casey was somehow passed over on the initial auditions, which was definitely a mistake. Her rendition of Keith Urban’s “Stupid Boy” earned a her a chance to move on, going all the way to the semi-finals. One of the highlights was her battle duet singing “Leather and Lace” — there was no denying the comparisons to Stevie Nicks, herself.
Casey Weston epitomizes the girl next door, and with her country-influenced musical roots — and her affinity for writing her own songs — one could start making comparisons to that other country-girl-next-door sensation. You know…what’s-her-name? But Weston’s rise to fame is going a bit slower, despite a huge boost as one of the eight semi-finalists on the inaugural season of “The Voice.”
I was thinking I was having trouble getting motivated to write during the Yahoo holiday because I’m spoiled by almost instant approval and pay, plus some extra hours I picked up at the day job…but I’m realizing as I sit down tonight working on my interview with The Voice finalist Beverley McClellan, who I interviewed only a couple of days before my phone interview with Grammy nominee Linda Chorney, that talking to two such extraordinary women artists who have carved their own path for so long (aged 42 and 51 respectively) and gone through the adversity of sticking it out as artists without compromising themselves…has completely blown a fuse. Serious overload. In a good way, but…overload. But I’ve flipped the breaker switch and getting back on track now, albeit a bit slowly.
It’s also got me thinking a lot about the importance of the “Hail Mary,” as both sort of did their own versions of them, with last ditch efforts that paid off. I think there is definitely a story in there beyond an interview with one or the other, but about being women who have sacrificed any kind of conventional life to live as an artist, and not giving in to that pressure we all get – but especially women – to settle down and raise a family and give up our “silly dreams.” The key phrase in that sentence being “give up.”
Luckily, for those of us of a certain age, my independent poll conducted that week of exactly three women over 40 shows that 3 out of 3 of those women really don’t give a shit what other people think. The one good thing about getting old.
And speaking of extraordinary women artists of a certain age:
If it wasn’t for “The Voice” I would have never discovered this man. Or been able to stomach some of the videos he made with his band – it’s obvious Adam Levine has a serious history of using videos as a thinly veiled excuse to roll around naked with models and for macho-man displays that make me cringe. (Except that one where his current girlfriend beats the crap out of him – that shit is FUNNY.)
I mean seriously, dude – you have such a girly voice – which is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but passing yourself off in videos as some badass just doesn’t work. It’s not your thang baby…it’s obvious you’re a lover not a fighter. Sort of…a white Prince. Except you don’t need to wear platform heels. And you shop in the men’s department (quite well I might add.)
So anyway, back to the voice (nice pun, huh). I love this freakin’ video. Not only does he look good, but he sounds damn good, too – trust me, you don’t need to mute this one, like that “Moves Like Jagger” shit. (Video can’t be embedded so you have to click on the link, but SO worth it. Trust me.)
This ain’t exactly terrible either (but the Al Green cover is better)
And for just full on eye candy (with only a little douchebaggery)
Oh Adam Levine, you’ve destroyed my indie street cred forever with your sexy soprano manliness. I hate myself for loving you.
I’m now a featured contributor for the movie section at Yahoo! Voices and will be linking to them on this blog, as those are content created exclusively for Yahoo! Contributor Network. Here’s a quick rundown of titles so far (CLICK ON THE TITLES FOR THE FULL REVIEW):
Rock ‘n’ roll in the movies has run the gamut from (supposedly) true biopics like “The Doors” to (supposedly) fictionalized firsthand accounts such as “Almost Famous” to the gritty documentary “A Detroit Thing” documenting the rise of Kid Rock and the rival Detroit band, The Howling Diablos, that was left behind.
“Killing Bono” has a little bit of all of them at its core, but especially the latter. Despite similar plot lines to the painfully poignant Kid Rock/Howling Diablos documentary — seeing one band or person launch into fame and fortune while watching the other guys they grew up with come so close yet miss their big break and superstardom — “Killing Bono” is a much lighter movie and not so difficult to watch.
“Killing Bono” is based on the true story of Neil McCormick (Ben Barnes), who grew up in Dublin wanting to be a rock star, much like one of his destined-to-be-famous classmates, Paul Hewson. C’mon, you know him, right? OK, OK … maybe you know him better as Bono.
The only thing more complex than watching Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia” is reviewing it. I sat down to write this review with absolutely no idea what to say, or even what I felt after this movie, but this is what I can tell you. “Melancholia” is not the kind of movie you go see for mindless action. Or horror. Or humor. Or suspense.
Honestly, I don’t know what on earth you go to this movie for. In fact, the genres cited seem somewhat trivial to something so multi-layered and weighty. Which, I think, might sort of be its point: the triviality of, well, everything.
Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence
Don’t get me wrong, as a hardcore horror buff since my preschool days, I understand the need for violence and gore at times. Hey, it’s horror, people. It’s not supposed to be pretty (unless you’re Dario Argento). But in a time when the bar has been so continuously raised for more blood! more gore! more violence!, are we finally reaching our limits?
The Twilight-Hater’s Guide to Manly Vampire Movies
Brace yourself for the mad hordes descending on malls everywhere in a few days at the stroke of midnight. Expect a deadly stampede as the doors open to the most anticipated day in November, at least if you’re pre-pubescent or simply have no taste in men.
I’m not talking about Black Friday, silly, but “Twilight” Thursday.