WFMU record fair
November 1st, 2011 by Mr. C
The 91.1 WFMU annual record fair happened last weekend at the Metropolitan Pavillion in NYC! It was a nice way to spend the day digging through the crates looking for that old LP, 12” single, 45’s, CD’s and even DVD’s especially with crappy weather out like we had last saturday. You can sure bet I brought my hand sanitizer and lotion to exterminate then exfoliate after flipping through some of those crusty old records. Oh, & I can’t leave out VHS movies as I found myself snatching up gems (in my eye) like The Perfect Weapon and the Kentucky Fried Movie for a mere $2 each. Ooops, did I just lay claim to that?! I have no shame! I’m a tight wad and definitely not your collectors collector of vinyl so I always spend my time at the WFMU $1 record bins looking for any decent rejects of 12” singles/LP’s of 80’s-90’s R&B/Hip Hop/dance records that I can jam out to and possibly scratch the snuff out of when I put the needle to the record. Besides that, all of the proceeds for these $1 records go back to benefit the cause of WFMU! Though, I can safely say that I wouldn’t be bumping elbows fighting DJ Z-Trip or DJ Grand Wizard Theodore diggin’ through the same bargain crates. This year I found solace in finding playable copies of classic joints from Sybil, Joyce Sims, Shanice, Brenda K Starr, and Tamia! Just Ice, Audio Two, Digital Underground, & Eazy E rounded off my other cheap vinyl eats!
Gary Balaban from Cine Noir Film Archives was rockin’ at his usual table selling 16mm movies, movie posters, noir, biker, & blaxsploitation films on DVD along with concert footages. Planet Chocko refers to Balaban with the nickname of “Iggy” (iggy pop) because he is always found hustling his Cine Noir stuff with a punk rock like attitude while maintaining a cool-groovy like composure when he showed 16mm blaxsploitation & horror films at the pink pony on ludlow street back in the mid 90’s! Can you dig it?! I ended up buying a hard to find copy of The Last Fight starring Fred ‘the hammer’ Williamson, Willie Colon, Rueben Blades, Don King, Tony Sirico, & Jose Torres just to drop a few names in this all star cast! Gary Balaban mentioned that he’s going to be showing 16mm films at the Spectacle Theater in Williamsburg, Brooklyn soon! Stay tuned!
Gary posing with a copy of Born Losers for sale at his Cine Noir film archives table.
Other cool happenings throughout the day included running into a trippy, psychedelic, bollywood like music performance from Prince Rama!
There was also a very neat collection of flexi, cardboard, and oddity records on display pinned to the wall at the record fair. MAC was on hand to answer any questions, play any record you were curious to hear, and to share his love for the history of the flexi-disc and disposable records! Right on!
You can also take a load off by riding on the home spun WFMU jungle inspired merry-go-round with your very own personal safari guide!
(all photos and vid by mr c)
Tags: mr c, record fair, wfmu
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TYSON (1995) — friday night fights at the movies!
October 28th, 2011 by Mr. C
Director: Uli Edel
Stars: Michael Jai White, George C. Scott, Paul Winfield, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Tony Lo Bianco, James B. Sikking
Genre: boxing docu-drama, based on a true story
–Excerpts from the movie:
“What do I think!?, I think he hits with bad intentions”. – Cus D’amato
“God’damn kid hits like Joe Frazier”. – Teddy Atlas
“40 times!!!?, even Al Capone wasn’t arrested 40 times!!”. – Cus D’amato
This HBO film released in 1995 was based on the life story of Mike Tyson. The movie was an adaptation of Jose Torres’ book: Fire and Fear – The Inside Story of Mike Tyson. Torres was an accomplished fighter, member of the international boxing hall of fame, and then later on became the NY State Athletic Commisioner of boxing. Jose was also under the tutelage of Cus D’amato just as Mike Tyson was.
Already an accomplished martial artist, this was to be the breakthrough film for Michael Jai White who portrayed the role as Tyson to a tee! From the body language to the haircut to the body style right down to the voice, Jai White would strike a strong resemblance to the young iron mike. George C Scott (Cus D’amato) & Paul Winfield (Don King) would also do a bang up job! It was pretty neat to see Malcolm-Jamal Warner (yes, from the Cosby Show) surface as one of Tyson’s childhood friends as well. The reenactment of the Trevor Berbick, Michael Spinks, & Buster Douglas fights were surreal, too! Some funny sequences from the film which was probably not so funny when it happened at the time was the Mitch Green confrontation on the street especially for Green’s jaw! I also couldn’t help but chuckle when the Barbara Walters & Robin Givens lookalikes appeared on the tube!
This movie covered Mike’s juvenile delinquent self growing up in the gritty Brownsville section of Brooklyn who was very fond of pigeons and thug life which in turn led him to the arms of upstate NY to a boy’s reform camp in the Catskills to being discovered by Cus D’amato and his raggamuffin crew consisting of Teddy Atlas, Kevin Rooney, Jimmy Jacobs, Bill Cayton, & Jose Torres which would ultimately lead to the blossoming of his professional boxing career until greed, being naive, & full of rage especially without the direction of D’amato took him onto the yellow brick road of self destruction in the Don King, Robin Givens era. “Tyson” would tell the tale of his story up until his conviction of rape to Desiree Washington.
Rather than trying to rehash Iron Mike’s life story, I’m going to just mention some highlights from the film (his life) that seemed to be turning points.
Furthermore, I’m not going out on a limb to say that this docu-drama is the definitive life story of mike tyson but from just basing it on the accounts of reported events in the media in real life during his struggles which includes the point of view from Tyson’s original trainer, Teddy Atlas and his book: Atlas – From the Streets to the Ring: A Son’s Struggle to Become a Man, stories do seem to match up with Jose Torres’ writeup. Only Tyson and the people directly involved will truly know. Some events that were known to the public at the time involving iron mike included the robin givens-barbara walters interview, the mitch green altercation, Givens breakup, the changing of hands to Don King from the Bill Cayton & Kevin Rooney reign, and the Miss Black America escapades.
The events that seemed to impact Mike Tyson includes:
*product of his environment growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn
*discovers boxing while at the reform school in the Catskill with trainer Bobby Stewart
*meeting Cus D’amato and crew
*Cus D’amato & Camille take custody of Mike Tyson
*Death of mom
*Tyson’s sexual assault on Teddy Atlas’ niece
*Teddy Atlas out, Kevin Rooney in
*Cus D’amato dies
*Jimmy Jacobs takes the reign
*Robin Givens enters his life
*Jimmy Jacobs dies
*Bill Cayton takes the reign, but Don King is the shark.
*Don King-Tyson goes all black, never looks back
*Cayton-Rooney lose control of Tyson
*manipulation by Robin Givens
*Barbara Walters
*breakup
*Buster Douglas
*Miss Black America
*Jail
Michael Jai White did a fantastic job depicting this troubled, talented, & fascinating man. The roughneck side along with a more sensitive, vulnerable, & shy side of Mike Tyson were definitely unraveled leaving the insecure portion of himself to morph into doing some not so nice things. Being a great student of the boxing game under the guidance of Cus D’amato was one of the highlights of this film. I’m not sure how accessible this movie is but a VHS copy might be lingering somewhere in your local swap meet, flea market, or pawn shops. Let me leave off with some of Cus D’amato’s quotes:
“Always keep your chin tucked down into your chest. I don’t care if you are running roadwork or just walking around school or watching T.V. Keep that chin tucked down. And your eyes looking up and out”
“A professional performs no matter what he is feeling inside“. – Cus D’amato
“Fear is a friend of every good and reasonable athlete“.
“Who ate my ice cream!!!?”.
On Rocky Marciano – “One word describes Rocky Marciano, Tenacity. He would not allow the concept of defeat to enter his mind“.
On Joe Louis – “Joe Louis had the quiet rage. He was a negro in a white man’s world and he hated it“.
Tags: michael jai white, mike tyson
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Zine and Mini-Comic Reviews
October 27th, 2011 by chocko
Xerography Debt #29
This is a zine chock full of zine reviews and is an excellent resource for checking out what’s out there in the zine world. It starts out with some informative editorials concerning the zine community and then there’s reviews galore with a plethora of info and contacts in case you see something that interests you. Most of the zines reviewed are from the United States, U.K. and Australia. It only costs $3 to purchase a copy, so definitely support the scene! I’m digging the pirate-themed wraparound cover by Bojan. Xerography Debt is published twice a year. Check it out at Microcosm Publishing.
San Diego Diary
Gabrielle Bell documents her trip to the San Diego Comic Con in comic book form. She is an excellent artist and has an amazing talent for storytelling and making the mundane interesting to read. Her personal Comic Con experience features cameos by her ex-boyfriend Michel Gondry and fellow comic book artists such as Ariel Schrag and Jeffrey Brown. The first couple pages are my favorite as she recalls her first time at the Con, more than a decade ago, trying to sell her mini-comics. As a bonus, there are also pages of her rough drafts and sketches. Definitely recommended. Get your copy at Uncivilized Books.
Feedback #10
I grabbed this copy during my trip to Portland. Feedback just got put on the shelf in the zine section of Powell’s Books and I snatched my copy for the flight home. It’s one of my favorites. The zine is by John Isaacson and features his reviews of punk shows told within a couple panels of comics. This particular issue also features flyers from the shows he reviewed for the issue along with zine and record reviews. For your own copy, send $2 to John Isaacson/P.O. Box 42041/Portland, Oregon 97202.
Fungus Issue One
This comic was done by James Kochalka who is known for his Monkey Vs. Robot series and American Elf books which features his daily diary comics. The first story in Fungus follows two mushrooms looking to have some fun and party hard. The second story is about two mounds of moss and a mushroom bickering about facebook and cellphones. Great cartoons…weird stories. I like the 3D cover a lot and the list of music Kochalka listened to while working on the book is a nice touch. This book was published by Retrofit Comics straight outta Philly.
Tags: feedback, gabrielle bell, james kochalka, review, san diego diary, xerotraphy debt
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Rolling Thunder (1977)
October 26th, 2011 by chocko
Director: John Flynn
Starring: William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes
Genre: 70’s B-Movie
This violent tale of revenge is hard to find. I found myself a bootleg copy at a local horror convention. Rolling Thunder has only been released on VHS in the United States and hasn’t seen the light of day until it was released on DVD and Bluray a couple months ago in the U.K. The movie was directed by John Flynn who would later go on to direct the cult classic Brainscan, the Sylvester Stallone prison movie-Lock Up and the Steven Seagal action flick titled Out For Justice. The story is by Paul Schrader who also wrote the classic Martin Scorsese film Taxi Driver. On a sidenote: Quentin Tarantino named his now defunct movie company, Rolling Thunder Pictures, after the film. They released movies such as Chungking Express, Switchblade Sisters and Sonatine theatrically at a time when those movies were rarely seen.
William Devane is Major Charles Rane, a Vietnam vet who returns home to his wife and son after doing time in a P.O.W. camp. After receiving a big San Antonio, Texas hometown welcome, Rane is rewarded nearly $2000 in silver coins. Things at home aren’t so peachy when he finds his wife wanting a divorce and his kid seeming more connected to the new guy his wife is sleeping with. Trouble really begins to brew when a gang of redneck thugs break into his home in search for the silver coins. The robbers run for the border with the silver after shoving Rane’s arm down a garbage disposal and killing his wife and son.
After recovering, Rane heads down to Mexico for some vengeance with his new hook for a hand, some guns and his new friend, a young war hero groupie portrayed by the actress, Linda Haynes. Her role is pretty much just whiny, eye candy. They search for the killers and then she gets ditched after Rane gets some help from his vet buddy while they set out to do the dirty work. Rane’s buddy is played by a surprisingly young and wrinkle free Tommy Lee Jones. The climactic ending finds the two vets in a Mexican whorehouse guns a’ blazing while naked women run amok. Rolling Thunder is a true gritty grindhouse classic!
trailer courtesy of The42ndStreetMutant
Tags: chocko, grindhouse, movie, quentin tarantino, review, tommy lee jones, william devane
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CMJ in NYC
October 25th, 2011 by chocko
The CMJ Music Marathon came through NYC leaving music fans thirsting for more. It was a physically draining last couple of days and most of us are still suffering from the post-CMJ blues. Here’s a meager slice of what went down…
Wild Flag, an all female band consisting of members of Sleater-Kinney, Helium and The Minders played Bowery Ballroom on Oct. 18. Carrie Brownstein and Mary Timony exchange lead vocals on the songs. Mary gets the girls singing backup for most songs and Carrie just rocks out…kicking and screaming. The songs are raw, no holds barred rock songs and the girls play like a band that’s been playing together for a long time. I went to their other recent shows. They played a Misfits cover, “She” during their encore at The Bell House in Brooklyn! There was no encore at their Maxwell’s show in Hoboken, NJ. Was it the lame crowd? Their set list at the Bowery Ballroom consisted of tracks from their self-titled debut album and two non-LP songs, “Nothing” and “Winter Pair.” They played 2 covers during their encore: “See No Evil” (Television) and “Ask The Angels” (Patti Smith). Eleanor Friedberger (Fiery Furnaces) opened the show. Her songs are less experimental than her Fiery Furnaces stuff, but they just ooze with coolness. Her new band is great and play her catchy songs with the greatest of ease. “My Mistakes” will stick in your head long after the song is over.
Under The Radar had a free (if it’s free, it’s for me!) showcase during the day on Oct. 19 at Public Assembly in Brooklyn. U.K.’s Chad Valley a.k.a. Hugo Manuel opened up the show. It sounded like Rick Astley doing electronic music. Norway’s Casiokids were the next to bring the noise with thundering percussion and fun dance music. They intend to tour Japan for the first time in November. Next, was a man who kinda looked like George Michael who performs under the name Porcelain Raft. His real name is Mauro Remiddi and he sings with a guitar with samplers and loops to beef up the sound. Great, dreamy pop from the label, Secretly Canadian! Eleanor Friedberger played a nice set of songs from her new album before breaking out to Philadelphia to open for Wild Flag again. Still Corners played some dark, mysterious songs with the alluring Tessa Murray on lead vocals. Her soft, whispery voice drew me in while twangy guitars played and psychedelic visuals projected swirled around on the screen behind the band. I was hypnotized and bought the new album on Sub Pop titled, “Creatures of an Hour.” It’s awesome! If you like bands like Cults, Mazzy Star, The Cranes, then Still Corners is the band for you. The Step Kids (Stones Throw Records) closed out the showcase with some bonafide soul and funk to shake your trunk.
Tags: bowery ballroom, casiokids, cmj, eleanor friedberger, marathon, music, porcelain raft, public assembly, review, still corners, the stepkids, wild flag
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Basil Gogos signing at NY Comic Con 2011
October 23rd, 2011 by Mr. C
Basil Gogos, one of Planet Chocko’s favorite illustrators who brought monsters and classic horror characters to life in the most frightening of ways, was in the house at NY Comic Con signing his book, Famous Monster Movie Art of Basil Gogos . Chocko and Mr C have been harassing Basil since the early 90’s at the Chiller Theatre convention! His artwork includes portraits of the creature of the black lagoon, frankenstein, dracula, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, Godzilla, King Kong to Peter Cushing, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lou Chaney, Vincent Price, & Christopher Lee. Of course, Gogos was also known for creating the cover art for the magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland.
I think I jogged his memory a bit in a good way when I mentioned the poster art he created for the Shaw Brothers movie, Super Inframan (1975).
Of course music fans might recognize his CD cover art from The Misfits, Rob Zombie, and Electric Frankenstein. Chocko and I thought it was pretty ironic that Basil Gogos was sitting at the next table over at Comic Con from the artist that just did the album cover art for the Misfit’s latest album, The Devil’s Rain which Chocko wrote about here.
But most of you would recognize his portraits from these classic monster movies:
Classic horror film fan or not, if you appreciate art that pops out in your face attempting to put a strangle hold on you when you lay your eyes on it, you’ll definitely appreciate the portraits by Basil Gogos. Meet, greet, get photos, and admire this young man in person while this living legend is still around! Can you say Chiller Theatre Convention in New Jersey?! Yes, yes, y’all…and you don’t stop!!
Tags: art, basil gogos, chiller theater, monster, ny comic con 2011
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Superjail + EagleHeart : Adult Swim shows at NY Comic Con
October 23rd, 2011 by Mr. C
(All photos below by mr c)
Upon the many cool new things that I discovered at NY Comic Con included a few shows on the adult swim programing block hosted by the cartoon network that I never knew about. Namely, the animated series from 2008, Superjail and the live action series, EagleHeart starring Chris Elliott (Yes, the guy from the Get a Life series!).
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the press hour conference with some of the production staff of SuperJail: Janine DiTullio, Stephen Warbrick, Christy Karacas(creator), and Richard Mather as they answered questions from the media which included casually talking about the violence and cuteness of the series, Superjail toy figures, and collaboration with Venture Bros & Metalocalypse.
After sitting in on the general panel of Superjail at comic con and watching an episode, I knew this 15 minute animated series would have to be added to my regular to watch queue! A jail housed inside a volcano with twisted and colorful inmates glorified with uber violence all the while having a maniacal warden as the maestro of the joint was too much not to take notice! Sold! Season 3 is in current production! See the pilot episode below from 2007:
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Another hilarious action series on Adult Swim called EagleHeart won my heart as well! Actors from the show, Chris Elliott, Brett Gelman, Maria Thayer and Jason Woliner were on hand at Comic Con to pitch the series and to invoke the inner nerd in us! I was wondering why there were so many questions involving Chuck Norris and finally realized that many EagleHeart scenes encompassed Chuck Norris Walker-Texas Ranger parodies amongst many other cop shows as well! Brilliant! No wonder Chris Elliott revealed his 6 pack stomach at the comic con panel! It was all in thanks to the Chuck Norris home gym as Elliott explained!
Eagleheart is produced by Conan Obrien’s company, Conaco and they are currently working on season 2! I’m beginning to realize the type of tv shows that cures my attention deficit disorder, 15 minute shows like Eagleheart and Superjail! Winning! Watch Chris Elliott play the character of Chris Monsanto, U.S. Marshall as he demonstrates the power of his inner Chuck Norris!
Tags: adultswim, eagleheart, mr c, ny comic con 2011, superjail
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more cosplay from NY Comic Con 2011
October 20th, 2011 by Mr. C
(all photos by mr c)
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DJ Z-Trip + Tom Morello at New York Comic Con kick-off concert 2011
October 19th, 2011 by Mr. C
(photos by mr c, vids by chocko & mr c)
Tom Morello (Guitarist from Rage Against the Machine & AudioSlave) was the 1st act to perform on friday night at the IGN Theater. Unfortunately, we had ramen noodles dripping down our chins as we rushed from the port authority/hells kitchen area back to the Javitz to catch his performance. I guess we were lucky in a way to at least catch the last song of his set as Morello lit up a nice rendition of the Ghost of Tom Joad as he dished out some guitar licks that would keep the zombies and vampires away! Rock on! The crowd really brought the noise to show appreciation as Tom went buck wild on the guitar! Chocko provided a mondo video of the performance below.
DJ Z-Trip was on next and he simply destroyed it on the first night of New York Comic Con as he johnny blazed on the wheels of steel at IGN Theater in what he called a special one off set for NYCC 2011! Z-Trip is known for serving up some fine–prime 1st grade mashups of old skool hip hop, classic & modern rock and soul to soul, wall to wall vinyl, now blending in the techniques of new age turntablism to boot! This special comic con 2011 ree-mix was devised by this honorary mixologist of the night which took about a week or so to formulate as he stated! The geek crowd would get a heavy dosage of flava’ in their ears with some well known tunes of superheroes, kaiju’s, & video game inspirations to infuse along with the hip hop and rock tracks! Armed with a Mac, a pair of turntables, & a microphone offered by the glitz of an LED table holding his weaponry with projected images on a screen behind him, Z-Trip set it off one time for our minds! “Z” sampled tracks from Rush-Tom Sawyer, Black Sabbath-Iron Man, Guns N Roses-Sweet Child O’ mine, Rolling Stones-Satisfaction, Nirvana-Smells like Teen Spirit, Rage Against the Machine-Freedom, Johnny Cash-Ring of Fire, Pink Floyd-The Wall to Eric B & Rakim-Follow the Leader, Pharoahe Monch-Simon Says, Public Enemy, House of Pain-Jump Around, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, and yes..even Puff Daddy as he phased in soundtracks from star wars, godzilla, & many other comic book characters. Meanwhile, the images on the L-E-D DJ booth and projected images on the screen would all be in sync with the theme of his mixes which provided some really cool visuals! Towards the end of his set, he saluted all the 99%’s out there and ended the night with an inspiring Curtis Mayfield joint. The performances by Tom Morello and Z-Trip was such a tremendous way to celebrate the weekend to come!
To get some nice elbow grease of Z-Trip at his best, pickup his album “Uneasy Listening” and “Live at Future Primitive Sound 2”. You can also get a glimpse of Z-Trip in his prime as he digs in the crates for some funky vinyl on the most excellent documentary from 2001 profiling some influential DJ’s called “Scratch”.
Also, check out Tom Morello’s comic book “Orchid” on Dark Horse comics.
Tags: comic con 2011, mr c, music, tom morello, z-trip
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New York Comic Con 2011
October 18th, 2011 by chocko
The New York Comic Con (October 13-16, 2011) at the Jacob Javits Center brought out fanboys, nerds, gamers and geeky girls from all walks of life to have some fun and celebrate comic books and pop culture.
(photos by chocko)
Tags: comic convention, cosplay, jacob javits center, nyc
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Corey Glover + Daniela Cotton played at Maxwell’s
October 13th, 2011 by Mr. C
The distinct vocals of Corey Glover (Living Colour) and Daniela Cotton blessed the stage at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ to a very modest crowd much to my surprise even for a party, hardy Tuesday in hobo-NJ where frats meet brat packs surrounded by finance rats.
Daniela opened up the night with her hybrid blend of rock, blues, funk, and even a dash of country at times when she sings her slower tempo tunes. I absolutely love her powerful-high to the mountain top vocals offering shades of raspiness from her diminuitive frame yet she is still able to deliver a gentle and heartfelt performance with songs like ‘Bound’ and ‘Shame’. Daniela played a bunch of newer songs including Lighthouse Keeper slated to release on her new album in February. She ended the set with a knock’em out of the park rendition (rock & soul edition) of Purple Rain by Prince which she also mentions will make its way to the studio! Cotton’s set included her oldies but goodies: Shame, Bound, Rare Child, & Make u move. Her band members provided a base clearing, inside the park home run performance with Marc Copely on lead guitar (awesome rock-out riffs & some wah-wah), Winston Roye on the bass guitar (funky,funky bass lines), & the animated John Clancy on drums (dope rhythm). Daniela Cotton’s band also did a tremendous job backing up Corey Glover. For a second, I thought Vernon Reid, Will, & Muzz were in the house in costume!
Daniela’s Small White Town and Rare Child albums are always hot on my playlist!
Corey was batting cleanup as he stretched out his vocals on deck before stepping up to the plate in his Will Calhoun t-shirt & iPad setlist! Glover, if you didn’t know was the lead singer for the very underrated band created in the awesome 80’s called Living Colour! Their sound would infuse metal, hard rock, funk, & jazz with lyrics that would provide in your face political and social messages. All this off the chain energy would be steered by Corey Glover’s voice as he drove everyone home with his animated performance supported by his rock’em out voice with some R&B undertones at times! The old lion still had the same tricks up his sleeve at Maxwell’s as he belted out a few Living Colour goodies like “Open Letter” and “Middle Man”. I wished I had more hair on my noggen as I banged my head around! Corey also delivered some gentle tunes from his solo albums like April Rain, One, Rose which he dedicated to his wife, & the finale song with Daniela Cotton, “Can’t find my way home” as well as a sex ‘em up song like “Do you first, then do myself”. All in all, it was a great performance despite a skeleton crew of a crowd which is why we love Glover to begin with anyway. He brings his heart, soul, & energy to the stage no matter if he’s singing to an audience of 20 or to an arena. Corey mentions that he is currently working on a new solo album.
Get Living Colour’s 2009 album “The Chair in the Doorway”!
You’ll also have a 2nd chance to see this potent combination of soulful juggernauts known as Corey Glover/Daniela Cotton live at the Highline Ballroom on November 29th! Lose yourself!
Tags: corey glover, daniela cotton, maxwells, mr c
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fatty arbuckle & buster keaton in “Coney Island” (1917)
October 10th, 2011 by Mr. C
Director: Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle
Stars: Fatty Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Al St. John
Genre: Silent film, comedy
Shot on location at Coney Island’s Luna Park, Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton starred in this comedy romp of slapstick proportions as the main character Fatty runs away from his wife on the coney isla beach only to create havoc at the park while he chases a pretty young lady around. You will get a really good glimpse of the glory days from Coney Island-brooklyn with shots of the beach to some really neat amusement park rides like the witching waves, the whip, and the chute! You will even get a chance to see Keaton crack a smile or two working as a lifeguard at the bathhouse before his persona on film of being the stone-face would come into play! There are many hilarious moments in this 24 minute movie but the ones I kept on losing my lunch over were when fatty rode the ‘chute’ with the girlfriend, the scene when Arbuckle dressed up as a lady before Keaton spilled the beans to his wife, and the keystone kop jail scene!
Coney Island would be the 2nd break in Keaton’s film career after The Butcher Boy thanks to the Fatty, plump one himself! These two would have great chemistry together as their physical display of comedy & charm would make anyone roll in laughter! Despite being rotund, Fatty Arbuckle can move move like the wind or more accurately like a hurricane. His agility & gracefulness while performing stunts definitely added to his vaudeville appeal. We all know that Buster Keaton was a great influence to Jackie Chan’s comedic style, but the more and more I look at it, Sammo Hung really reminds me of the great Roscoe! The big dude with the little hat & baggy pants sure packs one hell of a kick! Yes, a front heel kick!
The Turner Classic Movie channel is running a month long Buster Keaton appeciation day every Sunday thru October! Don’t miss out on the chance to see stone-face in action! You might even get lucky and see Fatty Arbuckle do some backflips, somersaults, and a double flying heel kick right through your living room floor! It’s the skinny tiger — fatty dragon show, y’all!
Tags: buster keaton, comedy, mr c, silent films
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