#WhatsHappening for January 31, 2108

Hey, hi, howdy boys and girls- happy Hump Day. Hope your week is going well.

The Electric Daisy Carnival is expanding to Asia.

Insomniac founder Pasquale Rotella said in a press release today that "(bringing) EDC halfway around the world is a milestone for our entire Insomniac family. China marks EDC’s sixth international location, and I’m excited to connect and create beautiful new moments with the country’s passionate and ever-growing dance music community."

Tickets for the April 29-30 show go on sale Sunday at 11 a.m. The lineup has not yet been announced.

Fox has asked that the $240 million lawsuit filed against them by American Idol's former creditors, telling the judge in the case that the lenders are seeking to blame others for their high risk loans that didn't pan out.

The suit was filed in 2016 by the trustee of former Idol producer Core Media Group, which declared bankruptcy after the show was cancelled, and was then taken over by financial firms that had once extended $360 million in loans. 

An attorney for Fox says the case "presents the paradigm for lenders seeking to blame others because they made high risk loans that did not pan out. Companies that produce television shows are inherently high risk ventures because producing a show is expensive, anticipating consumer demand is challenging, and the television audience is fickle. Even if a producer correctly guesses what will be popular with viewers right now, a show that is a huge hit one year can be off the air the next."

Journey's Johnathan Cain has a memoir coming out, and I'm determined not to read it, since he titled it Don't Stop Believin'. 

The tour manager for Mexican singer Gerardo Ortiz, Joel Camarena, and Regulo Caro tour manager Armando  Baneulous were detained in Dallas last week after TSA agents discovered stacks of cash inside their carry-on bags.

The Dallas News and Star-Telegram newspapers report that more than $100,000 was discovered in Camarena's bag and almost $50,000 in Banuelos' after drug-sniffing dogs had detected the scent of narcotics and the bags were searched.

Camarena is still in custody and appeared before a a federal judge yesterday on charges of conspiracy to evade federal reporting requirements. Police became suspicious after the Camarena changed his story about the money after learning the drug-sniffing dogs had led to the search. Banuelos was not arrested, and said that he was carrying the money in his bag for Camarena. Authorities said that over $115,000 of the money was not properly accounted for on federal reporting forms.

Birthdays today include: Justin Timberlake (36); Jason Cooper of The Cure (51); Alan Jaworski of Jesus Jones (52); John Lydon of Sex Pistols (62); Harry Wayne Casey of KC & The Sunshine Band (67); Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music (67); and Terry Kath of Chicago (72). #MusicalBirthdays

#WhatsHappening for January 29, 2018

Hey kids- hope you're having a fantastic weekend. It's sort of dreary here at the karaoke compound. I'd take a nap, but then I'd wake up at 10 or something, wondering where the hell I was and not able to get back to sleep. Guess I'll tackle some more chores after we catch up a bit.

Oh yeah- the Grammys are going on tonight. You'd think I'd know that, since my day job actually did some work related to the show for one of our accounts. Nope. I'm clueless.

Speaking of Clueless, it was on yesterday on one of the movie channels. Alicia Silverstone is just fantastic in that movie. And gorgeous. The movie's held up well despite the 90s lingo. (And yes, I'm ignoring the present-day, preachy vegan Ms. Silverstone.)

Because our government isn't enough like a goddamned circus, now we have to have a Twitter war between the president and a rapper.

Wow- someone suggested the Grammys move to Atlanta. Yet another reason to be glad I don't live at Five Points anymore. The Peach Drop in the front yard was clusterfuck enough for traffic and getting to my house, I can't imagine the fuckery that would accompany a bunch of self-important, self-congratulating asshats descending on downtown.

Nelly filed court papers Friday seeking to have an amended complaint in the rape case against him dismissed.

The rapper claims that the encounter on the tour bus after his Seattle show last year was consensual and that the woman became upset only when another person entered the bedroom to use the bathroom, while his attorney told the Associated Press that woman's claims were "completely fabricated" and part of a "money grab."

The case is being pursued via civil courts after the victim refused to cooperate with police because, as the amended complaint alleges, her name became public after she contacted authorities and "she felt that she could not stand up against a celebrity and the criminal justice system would fail her."

Grammy nominee Lisa Loeb has evidently discovered the fountain of youth.

Congratulations are in order for Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo.

An Aretha Franklin biopic is on the way, and Jennifer Hudson has been hand-picked by the Queen of Soul to play her on screen.

The announcement was last night a by producer Clive Davis at a pre-Grammys party, with Davis introducing Hudson ahead of her performance their- telling the audience that she'd be playing the legendary singer in the forthcoming film.

Hudson performed two of Franklin's best-known hits, Think and Respect. 

No further details on the film were announced.

Birthdays today include: Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys (37); Joey Fatone of N*SYNC (41); Tweety of Next (41); Sarah McLachlan (50); DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill (50); Rakim (50); Peter Schilling (62); original Funkadelic bassist Billy Bass Nelson (67); and original Stones' bassist Dick Taylor (75). #MusicalBirthdays