American River at 2021 Montclair Film Festival
October 26th, 2021 by Mr. C
American River was a wonderful eye opening film that documented the journey of Mary Bruno & guide Carl Alderson on a 4 day, 80 mile kayak through the pristine humble beginning flow of pureness & serenity of the Passaic River in Mendham, NJ to the very end when the Passaic river erects to form a chemical kaiju monster in Newark, NJ. The film is based on Mary Bruno’s 2012 book, An American River: From Paradise to Superfund. This would be Mary Bruno’s 2nd time navigating the Passaic River from beginning to end – only 10 years later from her first adventure. Her Kayak journey with Carl will reveal alot about the health of our river (and ultimately us humans) and in turn will educate and entertain us viewers just as much. On this 2nd journey and also based on the Q/A after the film, it seemed as if Mary came to grips & somewhat closure about the Passaic river that she grew up being afraid of while living in North Arlington, NJ.
So many thoughts flashed in my mind after watching American River
with opposite ends of the feel spectrum regarding the good of humanity
and the reckless abandon of humans in the way we treat our environment & each other for that matter. I’m not going to get into the details about
what lurks at the end of the Passaic river that causes it to be one of the most toxic if not THE undisputed belt holder of Superfund cleanup sites in our country. It is quite maddening that our nation and most of humanity would place money and industry first before our own health and well being. That being said, like our protagonists in the film say – what is done is done. We have to educate ourselves and learn from the past. And first and foremost, we have to put all our efforts to cleanup the mess or at least minimize it as much as possible.
I have to say that the kayak journey that Mary & Carl takes us on is so much fun & entertaining as much as it was scary & terrifying finding out what has
become of our river due to industry and greed. The banter between the two while kayaking and adventures on land was so enjoyable! I was excited to see areas of the Passaic river that I had never seen like in Mendham, Chatham, Summit, & even Berkeley Heights. This upper part of the river looks nothing like the area I’m familiar with. The section known as the lower 17 miles of the river like in Newark, Kearny, North Arlington, Garfield, Paterson, Elmwood Park, & Rutherford is the part that is closer to home to us. Unfortunately this lower 17 is also the most polluted part of the river. It was nice to learn about the Dundee Dam & the Little Falls Dam which is nearby to us but I had never known about. It was great to see familiar destinations in the film as well like the Great Falls of Paterson and them having lunch at Libby’s Lunch! The interactions Mary & Carl come across while talking to locals from every town they stop at was the key in learning about peoples experiences & different sections of the Passaic River.
There are so many things that I learned about our River and why we should preserve this powerful natural resource. For one, water is life. Why would I want to pollute it?
For those that do not live in NJ and are not familiar with the Passaic River, the issues on the Passaic is not unique – sad to say. Industrialization, business, ignorance, pollution, & selfishness applies to any person USA in any River USA.
I most definitely recommend watching AMERICAN RIVER and to read Mary Bruno’s book – An American River: From Paradise to Superfund .
Let’s do our part to keep our waters clean! Pete Seeger would approve!
Tags: documentary, mary bruno, passaic river
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Dionne Warwick : Don’t Make Me Over at 2021 Montclair Film Festival
October 25th, 2021 by Mr. C
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Dionne Warwick finally got a spotlight shining down on her for her contributions to the music industry as well as recognition for her stellar humanitarian efforts in 1985 with her fight against AIDS lending her voice literally & sonically – recording her version of the song “That’s what friends are for” with a bunch of her friends! This record made millions and continues to draw revenue to this day, all being donated to AMFAR, an organization to help bring awareness and fight to HIV & AIDS. Miss Warwick is a dignitary of the highest order! She sees something, she does something!
The documentary film “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over” chronicled her life starting from her humble beginnings in a diverse East Orange, NJ along with her religious family who were deeply rooted in the choir and gospel. Miss Dionne is the sister of Cissy Houston and Whitney Houston’s Aunt in case you didn’t know! Now that is what I call a talented family!
Stephen Colbert along with Dionne Warwick and director Dave Wooley
The film reminded us of how important Dionne was in bridging the gap between pop & r&b and maybe more
importantly with breaking down color & culture barriers. She also had to overcome the stigma of being a sellout because of this crossing. Dionne was caught in between not being black enough or being too white in the music industry. What I love about Miss Warwick was that she was an outlaw and she did what she wanted to do and not try to please others. She speaks her mind! It also showed us how tenacious she was in dealing with a racist & segregrated Jim Crow south when she toured with Sam Cooke in the 1960s. Her boisterous fight continued on to the 1980s & 90s when she said enough is enough with gangster rap and the outlandish language they used in portraying young ladies in their rap songs. Miss Warwick called in a meeting at her mansion to the OG’s of Gangster rap like Suge Knight, Snoop Dog, 2Pac and who knows what other G’s to address these issues!
This documentary was a nice reconnection & refresher to Dionne Warwick who was and is a very influential slice of pop culture and social influence that is often overlooked in my opinion! It was wonderful that we got a chance to celebrate her in this film and to give her roses for just being herself.
Stephen Colbert moderated a Q/A with Dionne and the director of the documentary after the viewing of the movie at the Wellmont Theatre / 2021 Montclair Film Festival. Colbert was really impressed with Dionne being on the Johnny Carson show over 10 times.
Tags: dionne warwick, documentary
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Summer Streets NYC 2021
August 14th, 2021 by Mr. C
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It felt great finally to get out to an organized public outdoor event and experience some sort of normalcy. I have to admit I still feel skittish going out in the public especially in confined spaces with crowd gatherings but summer streets is not that! For those who have followed us for a little while know that Summer Streets which is when NYC shuts down vehicular traffic for 7 miles for folks to run, bike, walk, talk, and basically do what they please short of committing a crime without having to worry about cars or any caged battering ram running amuck on the street! From Brooklyn Bridge/Supreme Court/Foley Square via Lafayette Street all the way to 72nd Street Central Park via Park ave was a Highway of bliss for pedestrians & bicyclists! For me it was amazing just to drive into the city, find a good parking spot, take out the bicycle, and just pedal into oblivion and to infinity! You know, just free the mind from the grind! It reminds me to not take things for granted and appreciate the simple things in life! These photos will look very familiar as we have ridden Summer Streets countless times since creation of this gathering but I can tell you everything felt like new again! We hope everyone is kind to themselves and kind to each other. Take care and see you on the streets!
Tags: Bicycle tour, summer streets
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Julia Scotti: Funny That Way (2021)
May 30th, 2021 by chocko
This documentary is an inspiring movie directed by Susan Sandler and tells the endearing story of a comedian who was born a boy in New Jersey. Rick Scotti had a successful career in comedy, headlining stages and performing with some of the biggest names in the field. Rick stepped away from the spotlight for more than a decade to focus on family, taking care of his two children and being a teacher. It seemed like a perfect life but something just never felt quite right for Rick. After a long hiatus from the stage and a gender transition, Rick became Julia. What emerged was a beacon of hope for the transgender community and proof that it’s never too late to follow your passion and for Julia that passion is comedy. The documentary is an emotional roller coaster ride that follows Julia for five years of her life as she attempts to reunite with her estranged children of more than a decade and as she makes a comeback to the comedy stage. You will pee your pants, weep, cry tears of joy and then laugh again while cheering on “the crazy old lady of comedy” in this funny and well done documentary. Not too shabby for a comedian that went from getting chuckles at the Jade Fountain in Paramus, New Jersey to laughs on “America’s Got Talent.” Julia Scotti: Funny That Way debuts on streaming platforms on June 1. Check out the trailer below!
Tags: comedian, comedy, documentary, julia scotti, movie, review, transgender
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Wayne New Jersey Toy Show
May 2nd, 2021 by chocko
Here’s a last minute post about the Wayne NJ Toy Show that happens the first Sunday or Saturday of the month in Wayne, New Jersey. The next one is Sunday, May 2 from 9 AM to 2PM at the Wayne PAL (1 Pal Drive, Wayne, NJ 07470). Admission is $5, so if you are looking for something to do on a first Sunday, come on down to “the Best local show for Toys, Comics, & other Pop Culture Collectibles!” Here are a bunch of photos I took from my visit at the show a couple months ago. As you can see there is a huge mix of toys like Star Wars figures, anime, Funko Pops and even some vendors selling toy modifications which are old toys or figures repainted and modified. You can even find records and movies too, so there is a little something for everybody. Come on down and check it out! Follow them on social media for more updates.
Tags: action figures, collectibles, toy show, toys, wayne nj toy show
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The Uncle Floyd Show – revisited!
December 4th, 2020 by Mr. C
The Uncle Floyd show came back alive again like fresh hot lava slowly oozing from a dormant – sleeping giant volcano last Tuesday! Uncle Floyd and long time producer and collaborator of Floyd’s, Scott Gordon started hosting a live viewing session of Uncle Floyd show episodes including the commercials and of course a live performance from special guest band! During the live viewing party, Uncle Floyd mentioned that there were approximately 6399 Uncle Floyd shows taped and that 5000 of them are gone forever. He didn’t want to get into the specifics of how they were lost but anyway that you slice it, that’s very sad and unfortunate. The Uncle Floyd Show is a piece of history that needs to be preserved in some form or fashion! On this particular night, Floyd & Scott re-ran the episode from November 30th, 1979. It was a trip seeing some of the old characters especially Oogie!
Now before you look at the hideous low-fi screenshots that I captured from the show below, let me explain to the young bucks who aren’t familiar with the plaid wearing NJ superhero and the phenomenon of what the Uncle Floyd show was. The Uncle Floyd show was an off the wall comedic – variety show who’s targeted audience were children & young adults alike but Floyd’s humor, ragtime piano playing, & outrageous skits along with live guest band performances on the show appealed to adults as well! The wacky cartoonish characters on the show like Netto, Skip Rooney, Mugsy, & Charlie added some spice too! Wait, did I leave out, Oogie & boxy!? The Uncle Floyd show ran from 1974 to about 1995 on UHF / 68 local public TV from what I remembered in the NJ/NYC area. Uncle Floyd Vivino and Scott Gordon are hosting virtual viewing parties of old Uncle Floyd Shows on Tuesdays at 8pm EST for the month of December but with the good feedback & viewership from last weeks show, I hope it continues on to 2021! So far the first and 2nd showings are hot tickets! Next Tuesday at 8pm EST, Floyd & Scott will show an episode from February 18, 1980 . Get your ticket for this viewing here before it sells out! ~> Tix for Uncle Floyd show on StageIt.com
Commercials from the Uncle Floyd show on November 30, 1979!
Tags: oogie, scott gordon, uncle floyd show, variety show
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An Interview With Creature
July 23rd, 2020 by chocko
Creature makes his return to Planet Chocko to talk about his latest release titled The Day Night Stood Still which features brand new tracks from an MC I first met more than a decade ago, outside of the legendary and now defunct hip hop store, Fat Beats. Over the years, I would bump into Creature at random punk and hip hop shows, and on the streets of NYC selling his music. I always admired his creativity, drive and diy approach to getting his art out into the world. In recent years, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing him rock the mic and start up mosh pits as the lead singer of Rebelmatic so it was a bit of a surprise to see him drop a couple hip hop tracks out of the blue. Definitely check it out and thank you to Creature for taking the time out to answer a couple of questions.
For those who don’t know you, introduce yourself. What hip hop artists did you listen to in your younger days and what made you want to be an artist and how would you describe your style and technique on the mic?
Hey what’s up world, this is Creature aka Creaturenomics, and I’m an MC. I’ll give you a brief history about me. I started out with a group called Triflicts. We were signed to Island/4th & Broadway Records. Our single came out in 1996 produced by The Beatnuts. Once we disbanded, I started releasing a plethora of independent music. I also started collaborating with people like MF Doom, Slug from Atmosphere, Prefuse 73, Homeboy Sandman, Rob Sonic, Vordul Mega, etc. I became a legend for selling CDs in the streets of New York. That led to appearing in publications such New York Times, Hiphop Weekly, XXL, Mass Appeal and more. I have toured about 15 countries in Europe. My main inspiration behind rapping was Chuck D from Public Enemy. Influences…Wu-Tang Clan, Gab Gotcha, Buck Live (Triflicts), Biggie, The Doors, Bad Brains, Mobb Deep, Outkast and Goodie Mob. The best way to describe my style and technique is aqua kinetic, because it’s diverse and always in motion.
“The Day The Night Stood Still” EP came outta nowhere. Where did these songs come from? Were they old songs written in a notebook? Was there a particular incident that made you want to put out some hip hop songs?
The Day Night Stood Still is an EP of songs I had written. In all honesty, the EP was inspired by the pandemic and the social unrest in America. The Rebelmatic album was done, and we were planning the next move but then the pandemic changed everything. Since I had some time, I went into the studio and recorded this EP along with another EP. I had an urgency to put out this material to show my love for rapping. I may be the singer in Rebelmatic, but I love to rap and I have never stopped.
A lot of the EP at a first glance deals with a tremendous amount of gloom and despair…crime, funerals, vampires. You pull us out of the darkness with the last track. Was that intentional?
As far as the theme of gloom and despair, I was expressing the mindset I was in when those songs were written. The last song was intentionally written to pull the listener out of the darkness. It’s a celebration of the bands we played with during our once a month residency at Max Fish, the iconic bar on the bar on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. The bands being Rebelmatic, Maafa, The 1865, Universe Ignores Her, Winter Wolf and others. I’m shouting out all of our friends and family and presenting a tribal community of musicians.
The last track “Max Fish N Grits” is a fantastic homage and shout out to the shows and the bands that played at your residency at Max Fish on The Lower East Side. Could you talk about those shows and how much they mean to you?
Yeah the shows mean a lot because of the sense of community. All the bands sound different, but we all make sense playing together. There are black and indigenous folks rocking out together and the atmosphere is great.
Tell us a little bit about the producer of the EP, Black Crane. What made you gravitate towards his work?
Well Black Crane is Anthony Solis, guitarist in the band Maafa. I heard his instrumentals on Bandcamp and I liked them so much, I reached out to him.They have this Wu-Tang Clan vibe, so I was immediately drawn to his production. He sent me some beats and we recorded the EP quick.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else you would like to mention?
Another EP is on the way. It’s called Hunt For The Future, produced by El Pres’ Beats. That will be coming out later on in 2020. Thank you for the interview in time. Pick up the Day the Night Stood Still. You can go to creaturenomicsnyc.bandcamp.com. Also, pick up my band Rebelmatic album, Ghost In The Shadows, which will be out August 28th 2020 on Red Right Recordings. Shout out to Jamel Rocwell, shout out to Milly Mango, Undeniable, Gab Gotcha, Calle Cardona. My hip hop people.
Tags: creaturenomics, hip hop, interview, mf doom, new york city, rap, rebelmatic, triflicts, underground hip hop, wutang clan
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burn baby burn! graff in Paterson & Hackensack
February 29th, 2020 by Mr. C
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It’s been a minute since I’ve been to both of these locations in Hackensack & Paterson to soak in the latest burners from Jersey & NYC’s finest. Hell, as I look at our last updates from these graff meccas, I haven’t been to either since 2016. Whaaat!? As I do a little moonwalk and refreshing in my head, our last visit to School 15 in Paterson – the 3 tiered playground which is akin to a sacred temple – a place of worship for aerosol writers was in a state of disarray. Walls were buffed out, the good pieces that were on the wall were bombed over with nonsensical lettering. The school yard, all three levels were in sad state. I remembered it stayed like that for a long while – at least a year. School 15 has always encouraged local artists to use their concrete walls as a canvas to inspire its K-8 students. I peeked in on Paterson’s Graffiti Wall of Fame today and I’m happy to report that the walls are flaming with fire once again! Meanwhile in Hackensack later that day, the Union Street Park graffiti scene is alive & well! There’s no more Fat Albert lurking on the walls but fresh paint is a poppin in the playground! The Hackensack mural wall space at this park has been around since 2007, thanks to founder and curator, Darrius-Jabbar Sollas also known as Nasty Neo. I think Neo is still curating this space? Anybody in the know, shoot us some gamma rays of info if I’m wrong.
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Union Street Park – Hackensack
Tags: burners, graffiti, hackensack, murals, new jersey, paterson graffiti, street art, wildstyle
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Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson
February 17th, 2020 by Mr. C
I’ve always admired the beautiful but ragged & dilapidated stadium that I see on the backdrop when I make my 2-3 times a year visit to the Great Falls in Paterson. This time I actually walked around the structure known as Hinchliffe Stadium and boy, if walls, ticket booths, and stadium seats can talk, I’m sure there would be plenty of conversations in there! There must of been many interesting stories, events, & life flying around at that venue’s heyday! I’m not going to bore you with facts and history of Hinchliffe Stadium which you can read on the internet but I’m going to just mention a few names, teams, & performers that graced the old stadium. Hinchliffe first opened in 1932 and is well known for it’s baseball heritage there. Most notably, the Negro Baseball leagues played here and had their World Series equivalent games hosted there! Second, Paterson’s own native son & baseball legend Larry Doby played his EastSide High School baseball and football games there! Eventually, Larry Doby would get discovered by the Newark Eagles before he went along to break the color barriers being the first black player in the American League in 1947 (2nd in MLB – Jackie Robinson was 1st of course!) & eventually being inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame!
The New York Black Yankees called Hinchliffe Stadium home for about 12 years and the NY Cubans called it their La Casa for 2 years.
Boxing, rock concerts, auto racing, High School baseball & football games for the local Paterson schools of EastSide High, Kennedy, & Central High School called it home there. Did I also mention another Silk City – Paterson native son Lou Costello performed there with his lesser half (kidding) Bud Abbott – everyone knows as Abbott & Costello of course! I can imagine all 10,000 stadium seats were filled when Lou & abbott performed at Hinchliffe!
Hinchliffe Stadium remains as one of the very few still standing structures of Negro League History. The Stadium was built by the city in 1932-33 and was owned by the Paterson Public Schools since 1963, it was closed in 1996. Fast forward to 2020 and it looks like a mess. BUT Hinchliffe Stadium was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2013 and recent years talks have been ongoing about rehabilitating it. Hinchliffe has been on the local news recently so maybe headway is being made to get the makeover rolling!
Tags: eastside high school, hinchliffe stadium, larry doby, lou costello, negro leagues, new jersey, ny black yankees, ny cubans, paterson, silk city
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New York Chinese Cultural Center – Lunar New Year celebrations at Brookfield Place
February 2nd, 2020 by Mr. C
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A Lunar New Year celebration to welcome in the Year of the Rat was held on Saturday February 1st at Brookfield Place in the Winter Garden in collaboration with the New York Chinese Cultural Center (NYCCC) and Arts Brookfield. NYCCC is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Chinese culture, heritage, tradition, and pride for the local and global communities of the Chinese at large. I’ve covered and been to a few Lunar New Year events held by NYCCC. Their performance is a dynamic and wonderful, radiant way to welcome in the new year! This year was no different as the program was a potpourri of tradition with a touch of modern featuring a Lion Dance parade, Chinese ethnic dances including a Xinjiang Folk Dance, Sichuan Face-Changing opera, Kung Fu, a Ribbon Dance, Chinese Fan Dance, and a Mongolian Bowl Dance as well as a 4 person band playing traditional Chinese music! Students from the school performed a piece called, ‘Welcoming the Year of The Rat’ as well as a set called ‘Singing for Spring celebration’. The colorful and vibrant performances was a spectacular way to usher in the new year with dance & music! I have to say, I haven’t been to the Winter Garden – World Financial Center/WTC area in quite a long time and I’m happy to report that the space is more than well managed! Renovations and amenities have made the whole area a joy to spend the day at! More importantly Arts Brookfield has brought in a sense of community with the cultural events they are curating in the Brookfield Place space.
To find out more about the New York Chinese Cultural Center and the classes they offer click here.
To keep up to date about events going on at Brookfield Place and Arts Brookfield, click here.
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Geoffrey Sant and the Ambassador of China in NYC
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HR + MAAFA + Rebelmatic + The 1865 played The KINGSLAND
December 10th, 2019 by chocko
Last Saturday at The Kingland in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, H.R. of the legendary Bad Brains played a set that got the kids in the crowd and older hardcore heads losing their minds to songs from his reggae and rasta solo albums and a couple Bad Brains songs thrown in for good measure. HR and Human Rights had skateboarder supreme Chuck Treece on bass guitar filling in on short notice and seemed to be learning some of the songs on the fly. HR and his band sounded excellent with many highlights in the set but my favorite moment was hearing the heavy on the reggae version of the Bad Brains “Re-Ignition” which was instantly recognized by the crowd from it’s first couple of notes. The occasion was MAAFA’s Flora’s Birthday Fest and other bands on the bill included Flora’s band MAAFA who are incredible and a band you definitely have to see live. They are a mix of hardcore punk vocals, political lyrics for the most part coupled with beats, rhythms and sounds you wouldn’t normally hear at a punk show. Flora is front and center for that band and she is one ferocious mama on the microphone. Rebelmatic also played that night and never disappoint…always killing it and giving it their all on stage. These Rebels Without a Pause have so many influences ranging from hip hop, soul, and hardcore punk so always make sure you have your dancing shoes on because these guys know how to move the crowd. Rebelmatic will be dropping a new album in early 2020 so be on the lookout for that and definitely support one of the best NYC bands out there right now. We strolled in late so we missed sets by Foxtails (from CT) and Universe Ignore Her but U.I.H. play around the NYC area so I’ll be there for their next show for sure. We caught the tail end of The 1865 set featuring Honeychild Coleman on vocals and baritone guitar. The band also features Flora Lucini and filling in on guitar was Anthony Solis of MAAFA. The MVP award of the evening hands down goes to The 1865’s drummer Jason “Biz” Lucas who played in three bands that night…The 1865, Rebelmatic and MAAFA. Nobody Beats The Biz! Check out photos and videos below.
Tags: bad brains, band, brooklyn, greenpoint, hardcore punk, HR and Human Rights, maafa, punk, punk rock, rebelmatic, the 1865, The Kingsland
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Tales from Chiller Theatre: Spooky Spring Show 2019
October 25th, 2019 by chocko
Hey goons, hunchbacks and sasquatch looking mofos! It’s Chiller Theatre time in Dirty Jersey..a Spooktackular Halloween weekend event of grand proportions of all things horror, sci-fi (shout out to Forrest J. Ackerman!) and everything else in between. It’s the ultimate toy, model and film expo that if you pass up, you’ll wanna kick yourself repeatedly in the cojones. Jump out of your dusty coffins, put down those pumpkin spice lattes, grab your jack o’ lanterns and head out to Parsippany, New Jersey and party with all the gangstas of gore, unshowered werewolf horror collectors and bring your ghoul friend. Bring extra shekels because the price of admission has increased due to rising costs! General admission is now $35 at the door. Be there October 25-27. Rest In Peace to Zacherle and all the past guests that are no longer with us. Check out some photos below for a look back at our visit to Chiller Theatre Spring 2019.
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Tags: chiller theatre, collectibles, expo, movies, new jersey
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