#WhatsHappening for April 26, 2018

Happy Thursday, kids. Hope the week has sailed smoothly by for you so far.

Bill Cosby was found guilty of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004.

A jury outside Philadelphia convicted Cosby on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, less than a year after a previous jury deadlocked on the same charges. He faces up to 10 years in prison on each of the counts.

Talking Heads' co-founder Chris Frantz is joining the ranks of musicians-turned-authors with a memoir that's due out in the spring of 2020 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Heads' Remain In Light LP.

Frantz, his wife- Tina Weymouth, and David Byrne formed Talking Heads in 1973, and Frantz and Weymouth formed Tom Tom Club in 1980- when Byrne was working on solo projects. Frantz and Weymouth have also worked as producers on numerous other artists' projects.

The book will be published by Faber Social. 

"From a rough loft on Chrystie Street to legendary CBGB, to touring with the Ramones, the Pretenders, B-52’s, the Police, Dire Straits and many others, Talking Heads wrote the soundtrack for the punk and new wave movement," Faber Social said in a statement. "Chris Frantz remembers it all in thrilling detail and proposes a memoir as eclectic—and electrifying—as Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club."

On the heels of the prosecutor's decision not to file charges related to Prince's death, the singer's heirs filed suit against Walgreens and the Illinois hospital that treated him after he suffered from an opioid overdose, alleging that a doctor and various pharmacists failed to provide Prince with reasonable care, contributing to his death.

The lawsuit, filed in Cook County, Illinois, alleges a doctor and pharmacist at Trinity Medical Center in Moline, Illinois, failed to appropriately treat and investigate Prince's April 15, 2016, overdose, and that he died "as a direct and proximate cause of one or more ... deviations from the standards of care." It goes on to accuse Walgreen Company pharmacists at two of its Minnesota branches of "dispensing prescription medications not valid for a legitimate medical purpose."

Attorneys for the said in a statement that "Prince's family wishes, through its investigation, to shed additional light on what happened to Prince. At the same time further light on the opiate epidemic will hopefully help the fight to save lives. If Prince's death helps save lives, then all was not lost."

"Claps back" needs to go away.

Don't forget to join us for Saturday Night Karaoke this weekend- live and loud at the Iron Horse Tavern in historic downtown Norcross.

Birthdays today include: Jose Pasillas of Incubus (42); T-Boz of TLC (48); Chris Mars of The Replacements (57); Roger Taylor of Duran Duran (58); Gary Wright (75); Bobby Rydell (76); and Duane Eddy (80). #MusicalBirthdays

#WhatsHappening for April 23, 2018

Whoo-hoo, Monday Tuesday! Sorry, I got sidetracked.

I don't really see it.

Paramount has picked up the upcoming Elton John biopic Rocketman, starring Kingsman actor Taron Egerton. The film will track John's career from his days at the Royal Academy of Music through his recovery from drug and alcohol addiction and his rise to international superstardom.

Egerton will go the Sissy Spacek/Coal Miner's Daughter route and sing John's tunes himself- and has already recorded songs at Abbey Road Studios. (Is anyone besides me really hoping one of the songs isn't Candle in the Wind? At least, not the "English Rose" version.)

Have you seen the Denny's commercial with the Solo tie-in? It's like even a good-if-it's-the-middle-of-the-night-you're-ripped-and-nothing-else-is-open restaurant realizes that Chewbacca is going to be better in this movie than the poor guy who's playing the titular character.

The estate of the late mastermind Prince has finally brought the Purple one back to the internet. Here it is, in all its glory. I especially love that all the videos are there, plus the discography of his incredibly prolific career, his output as a producer, and- still to come, according to the estate's reps- selections from his vault of unreleased material.

Deep Purple and Judas Priest are hitting the road this fall on a 25-city co-headlining tour that kicks off August 21st in Cincinnati. The tour will span slightly over a month, wrapping up September 30th at the Toyota Amphitheatre in Wheatland, California. 

Deep Purple is touring to promote their 2017 album inFinite, while Judas Priest released their latest, Firepower,  just last month.

Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday at 10 AM, while Citibank cardholders can snag tickets until Thursday morning. The tour hits the Atlanta area on September 14th with a show at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.

Janet Jackson's camp announced yesterday that her State of the World Tour will be adding some summer dates across the United States. The 11 city extension includes dates in Austin, Texas, and Syracuse, New York as well as appearances at the Panorama, FYF Fest, and Outside Lands festivals.

Tickets go on sale Friday.

If you regularly peruse our ramblings, you know that the words Kanye and West rarely appear here unless I'm insulting him, but I had to mention the Billboard headline from today: Is Kanye West Eying a Political Run in 2024?

As I said when it was rumored Oprah Winfrey would run- or when any other fucking "celebrity" asshat (including the one currently residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) makes the announcement, let me offer this: How about a big-old FUCK NO?

Are old-guard, career politicians a problem? Ab-so-fucking-lute-ly. Is a person who's completely bereft of knowledge of how government actually works, and has never held a job that involved actual work the answer? Ab-so-fucking-lute-ly not. 

Don't forget to join us for Saturday Night Karaoke, live and loud at the Iron Horse Tavern this weekend from 10pm-1am. 

Birthdays today include: Kelly Clarkson (36); Aaron Comess of Spin Doctors (50); Patty Schemel of Hole (51); Billy Gould of Faith No More (55); Boris Williams of The Cure (60); David J of Love & Rockets (61); Glen Cornick of Jethro Tull (71); and Barbra Streisand (76). Today would also be Roy Orbison's 82nd birthday. #MusicalBirthdays