#WhatsHappening for February 25, 2018

Good Sunday morning, kiddios. Hope you're enjoying your weekend so far. Unlike most people, I actually enjoy rainy days- because it means the pollen count will be down (at least for the day it rains) and I can actually open windows in the house and get some fresh air without my skull turning into the Greater Snot Sea.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for Saturday Night Karaoke last night. Lots of singers always means a fun time for everyone and you certainly didn't disappoint.

Today would've been George Harrison's 75th birthday. The "quiet Beatle" was born on this day in Liverpool in 1943. Hard to believe it's been 17 years since he died. 

Former Talking Heads' front-man David Byrne didn't quit the music business when the group disbanded in 1991, he's just been very- let's say "deliberate"- about releasing new music.
American Utopia, due out March 9, is Byrne's first solo release since 2004's Grown Backwards and his first album since his dual effort with St. Vincent, 2012's Love This Giant.

Here's the first single from the album- Everybody's Coming To My House.

Can we agree that this is kind of creepy?

Prince fans can pay homage to the star via their culinary skills when a new cookbook inspired by the Purple sage hits stores April 21- the second anniversary of his death.

The Cat Food Bakery's Little Red Velvette features selections like Purple Rain ombre cakes, Raspberry Beret tarts, and Darling Stikki toffee puddings. The book is currently available for pre-order.

Barbara Ann Alston, singer with the '60s girl The Crystals, died last week after contracting the flu. Donielle Prophete, Alston's daughter, told the Charlotte Observer her mother had spent two weeks in intensive care in Charlotte before succumbing to the virus.

"She loved the Crystals. She always talked about singing with them, the work they created together. She loved the sisterhood part of it, the traveling," Prophete said, but she was uncomfortable with her original role as lead singer. 

Prophete told the BBC that producer Phil Spector and Phillies Records' management "loved her voice and they kept pushing her to the front but she was shy."

Alston's funeral is set for Friday. She was 74.

Latest headline I scratched my head over: These game show contestants seriously struggled to identify Kendrick Lamar

Not a clue.

Evidently the internet is all surprised and shit by the fact that the three middle-aged contestants on an episode of Jeopardy didn't know who the rapper was- even though the clue included the names of some of Lamar's best-known songs.

Now, if I've said it once, I've said it a million times- I wouldn't know who 95% of "celebrities" were if they walked up to my door and asked if I'd seen there new movie/TV show, or heard their new record, or whatever. Then again, I'm pretty pop culture ignorant- especially when it comes to pop culture since 1995 or so. I just never paid that much attention.

Birthdays today include: Daniel Powter (42); Justin Jeffre of 98 Degrees (45); Mike Peters of The Alarm (58); Dennis Diken of The Smithereens (61); and Doug Yule of Velvet Underground. #MusicalBirthdays 

#WhatsHappening for February 23, 2018

Whoa yeah, Friday.

Me? I've been busy. I haven't been reading Joe Hill's book The Fireman or his dad's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three or working late. Nope, not me.

Elvis Presley’s Graceland will be holding the first ever Graceland Performing Arts Camp this summer. The camp- open to children ages 6-15- will teach acting, music, and dance techniques.

The four day camp will allow participants to explore the Graceland campus- including Elvis' living quarters- and feature showcases developed by all the camp's participants being performed at The Guest House Theater for family and friends as camp comes to a close.

I didn't realize that Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood debuted fifty years ago this week. How about that? I wasn't really a fan- even as a child- but he seemed like a good guy, and I love the stories that people share about him.

I know I've mentioned this more than once in the past- but I am out of touch. I read through the Billboard, NME, and Variety websites and I don't have a fucking clue who, probably 80% of the fucking people they're referring to are.

We hope you'll join us tomorrow night for Saturday Night Karaoke at the Iron Horse Tavern. We'll be there, rocking the house for you from 10pm-1am.

I was just reading that Fergie says her rendition of the National Anthem at the NBA All Star Games "clearly... didn’t strike the intended tone."

I mean, it's not like I watched it (I have as much interest in basketball as I do in having corrective surgery on my deviated septum- which is zero), but did everyone magically have the Super Bowl Halftime abortion she put on wiped from their memory but me?

Birthdays today include: Jeff Beres of Sister Hazel (46); Howard Jones (63); Brad Whitford of Aerosmith (66); Steve Priest of Sweet (68); Rusty Young of Poco (72); and Johnny Winter (74). #MusicalBirthdays 

#WhatsHappening for February 19, 2018

Hey, hi, howdy kids. Hope you all had a great weekend and smooth sailing today.

We'd like to say thanks to everyone who joined us for Saturday Night Karaoke over the weekend. If you weren't there- well, what the hey? C'mon out this week and catch all the fun!

Congratulations to everyone responsible for Black Panther- which racked up an eye-popping $235 million dollar tally over the weekend. The movie looks really good. 

If history shows me anything, though, I won't be seeing it until it hits DVD. Oh well, at least Thor: Ragnarok will be out on DVD before Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters.

Of course, I probably won't make it to that, either.

The Nashville Post is reporting that Gibson Brands Inc., the iconic guitar maker, is facing bankruptcy despite annual revenues of nearly $1 billion.
The company issued a statement last week saying that it had "met all current obligations to the bondholders, is in the process of arranging a new credit facility to replace the bonds, and fully expects the bonds to be refinanced in the ordinary course of business."

Or... you know.

I'm sure I've mentioned this at one point or another, but I'm not a fan of basketball (at any level), so no- I didn't see Fergie's version of the National Anthem at the NBA All Star Game yesterday.
Then again, considering how fucking awful she and the Black Eyed Peas were during their Super Bowl halftime show, I can't believe anyone expected anything other that a giant pile of suck.

Birthdays today include: Prince Markie Dee of the Fat Boys (50); Seal (55); Dave Wakeling of English Beat (62); Steve Nieve of Madness (60); Francis Buchholz of the Scorpions (63); Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath (70); Paul Dean of Loverboy (71); Lou Christie (75); and Smokey Robinson (78). #MusicalBirthdays

#WhatsHappening for February 16, 2018

No flippancy today. All I have to say is:

We hope you'll join us tomorrow for Saturday Night Karaoke.

#WhatsHappening for February 13, 2018

Hey kids, what's shaking?

I sat down Sunday with every intention of posting an update. But, since it felt like someone was jabbing me in the lower back with a rusty screwdriver... yeah. Didn't happen. So sue me- the page is free.

Back when I worked in country radio, there were a very few artists that I liked. Reba McEntire was not one of them. And I fucking hate those KFC commercials. It's like they're telling me "hey, we know our chicken sucks, so here's something that sucks more to distract from it!"

Also, Publix has the best fried chicken.

Sir Paul McCartney has been named one of this year's recipients of Israel’s Wolf Prize. In announcing the prize, the Wolf Foundation called McCartney "one of the greatest songwriters of all time."

Adam Fischer of Hungary was also being recognized for music as "an inspirational conductor and eloquent defender of human rights."

Awards are also given to laureates in chemistry, agriculture, mathematics and physics. Nearly three dozen of Wolf Prize winners have gone on to receive Nobel prizes.

Sexual battery case against Seal have been dismissed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney due to a lack of evidence to support the claims.

The singer had been accused by actress Tracey Birdsall of groping and forcefully kissing her in 2016, but a criminal investigation could find no evidence or witnesses to support her allegations.

A representative for Seal said the singer "vehemently denies the recent accusations made against him by a former neighbor for alleged misconduct of more than a year ago. He intends to vigorously defend himself against these false allegations."

The first wave of performers for the 2018 Reading & Leeds Festival have been announced- with Kendrick Lamar, Fall Out Boy, and Kings of Leon as headliners. The Fest runs August 24, 25, and 26.

More acts will be announced as the event gets closer.

The Ottawa Bluesfest has announced their 2018 lineup, with the top spots going to Beck, Foo Fighters, and Dave Matthews. Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah, Kimbra, and Noname are also slated to perform. The 10 day festival begins runs July 5-15 at LeBreton Flats Park in Ottawa, Ontario. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Birthdays today include: Robbie Williams (44); Freedom Williams of C&C Music Factory (52); Les Warner of The Cult (57); Henry Rollins (57); Peter Hook of New Order (62); Ed Gagliardi of Foreigner (66); Peter Gabriel (68); Peter Tork of The Monkees (74); and Stockard Channing- also knownas Rizzo in Grease (74).

#WhatsHappening for February 8, 2018

Hey kids, happy Thursday. Is it just me or is this week just freaking dragging?

Bruno Mars says the NFL should "celebrate (the) incredible Hip Hop Artist(s) from Atlanta Next year" at the Super Bowl's Halftime show in the city. He went on to suggest a few artists he thought would be a good fit.

Personally, I have no real opinion on who should perform, since nobody's ever gonna come close to Prince's show- although they've got a shot at doing the show in the rain if the top's open, since it's broken and doesn't close like it's supposed to. Way to spend that $1.5 billion!

Or a fuckton. This is just one section of the 4 mile parade.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, the city of Philadelphia said they weren't planning on releasing any crowd size numbers for today's victory parade, but I think we're safe in saying "a shitload."

It's out of this world.

Don't forget to join us for Saturday Night Karaoke this week at the Iron Horse Tavern.

The family of late 3 Doors Down guitarist Matthew Roberts has filed suit against an Alabama doctor they say contributed to Roberts' opioid addiction before he OD death.

The lawsuit claims that the doctor "began prescribing high levels of opioids to the musician in 2006 and continued doing so until days before he died." Rite Aid was also named in the suit, as the family said pharmacists failed to report Roberts' suspected drug abuse.

Billboard headline: "Meghan Trainor Tells James Corden She Has Two Videos On the Way and They Involve Sexy Slo-Mo"

I guess that means she's not in either of them.

I guess, when you're Quincy Jones' age, and have enjoyed the career success he has, you're well past the point of giving fucks. In a new interview with Vulture, Jones once again offers his "take no prisoners" approach to answering questions, telling them- among other things- that Michael Jackson was "as Machiavellian as they come," to the point of stealing "a lot of songs" and denying keyboardist Greg Phillinganes his share of royalties for his part of writing Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough.

Jones said his first impression of the Beatles was that "they were the worst musicians in the world" and that he still thinks rap is "a bunch of four-bar loops... it's the same phrase over and over and over again. The ear has to have the melody groomed for it; you have to keep the ear candy going because the mind turns off when the music doesn’t change. Music is strange that way. You’ve got to keep the ear busy."

You can read the entire conversation here.

Birthdays today include: : Dave "Phoenix" Ferrel of Linkin Park (41); Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk (43);

Will Turpin of Collective Soul (47); Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe (57); Sam Llanas of the BoDeans (57); Tom Rush (77); and composer extraordinaire John Williams (86). #MusicalBirthdays

#WhatsHappening for February 6, 2018

Hey kids- happy hump day. Oh, wait. Only Tuesday. Goddamnit.

One month after cutting his San Diego concert short and cancelling his January shows, Willie Nelson has nixed performing this month, too.

Rolling Stone reports that Nelson is suffering from the flu and needs "a few extra weeks to recover completely."

His next tour date is now March 5 in Greenville, South Carolina.

Puerto Rican reggaeton stars Wisin y Yandel are officially reuniting. 

The duo had been teasing the reunion on social media and with their new single Todo comienza en la disco and will perform their first concert together since 2013 with a March 31 date at the Altos de Chavón Amphitheatre in the Dominican Republic and full-fledged tour- expected to be announced in the coming weeks. 

The 2018 Songwriters Hall of Fame has been announced and John Mellencamp, Kool & the Gang, and Jermaine Dupri lead this year's class.

Allee Willis, Bill Anderson, Steve Dorff, and Alan Jackson will also be honored at the June 14 ceremony in New York.

"The 2018 roster of Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees is a prodigious representation of creators of cross-genre hits, certain to resonate with everyone," said organization co-chairs Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff and president/CEO Linda Moran. "Each year, the slate of songwriters we induct is more diverse and illustrative of the history and contributions that we strive to acknowledge and honor."

Neil Diamond, Elton John, and now Paul Simon.

Birthdays today include: Rick Astley (52); Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses (56); and Fabian (75). Bob Marley would've been 78 today. #MusicalBirthdays 

#WhatsHappening for February 4, 2018

Hey kids. Hope you're enjoying your weekend. It's actually pretty dreary here at the karaoke compound today- that's gonna make it hard for me to actually get off my ever-expanding arse and actually get any housework done.

Long-time Temptations' singer Dennis Edwards has died, according to his family.
Edwards replaced David Ruffin in 1968 as the group's lead singer and stayed with them until 1977- performing on classic hits including  Can't Get Next to You, Ball of Confusion, Papa Was a Rollin' Stone. He would later rejoin and leave the group a number of times through the 80s- eventually teaming up with Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks for a Tribute to the Temptations package tour. 
He was 74.

One thing that won't be interfering with my getting anything done today is the football game. Call me Captain "Don't Give a Fuck" in that regards.

The remaining 10 dates of Lady Gaga's European tour  have been cancelled because of the singer's "severe pain."

Gaga said on her Twitter account yesterday that she was "devastated" by having to cancel the dates, but that her well-being had to come first.

pic.twitter.com/w5mTZsSb0X

— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) February 3, 2018

And, after reading the report, I have to ask myself again why the fuck I read the comments- full of people (and I use the term quite loosely) saying that she was "faking it" and the "real" reason the tour was cancelled was poor ticket sales. Because people are assholes.

Yahoo! headline: In Prince's backyard, how should Justin Timberlake pay homage at Super Bowl halftime show?
Look, nothing against Timberlake (I'm pretty ambivalent towards his music), but my suggestion is by not performing.
Prince's show in Super Bowl XLI was perfect. From the opening strains of Let's Go Crazy to closing out his anthemic Purple Rain in a South Florida deluge- no artist is ever going to be presented with the serendipitous confluence of nature and genius that served to elevate his performance from "mere" greatness to a level of magnificence that the game's halftime shows will never match again.

Birthdays today include: Cam'ron (42); Natalie Imbruglia (43);
Rick Burch of Jimmy Eat World (43); Clint Black (56); Phil Ehart of Kansas (67); Alice Cooper (70); Florence LaRue of Fifth Dimension (74); and John Steel of The Animals (77). #MusicalBirthdays