Record Store Day 2011
April 20th, 2011 by chocko
regina spektor at other music
Happy Belated Record Store Day. How did it go out there? Did you wait in a line like me and Mr. C to stock up on limited edition vinyl? That’s what we did on that unusually cold spring morning in New York City last Saturday. First up was Other Music located on 15 E. 4th Street between Broadway and Lafayette. This store has been there as long as I can remember…back in the day they were shadowed by the mighty Tower Records and Tower Video stores across the street. Those stores are no longer around but OM is still in effect. We were joined by about 100 people waiting in line for doors to open at 11 a.m. The line moved pretty fast once the doors swung open. I picked up a few goodies…Pay to Cum! the reissue of the 1980 debut of Bad Brains and OFF! Live at Generation Records 7″. The extra special bonus at Other Music was the first 100 customers who bought the the new 7″ four from far by Regina Spektor, got to see her perform for free. Oh, you know we had to go to that. After shopping and a quick lunch, we got back in line and waited for about about an hour until Regina to showed up and played at the piano on a small stage in the no longer empty store front next to Other Music. When Regina arrived the crowd went bonkers and her fans were treated to a short set of songs which included riot gear, all the rowboats, ballad of a politician and better. She was funny and interacted a lot with the crowd. She appeared a little nervous about the fact that it was all being taped for a future release, but it all went well in the end. By 3:30 we made it to Generation Records at 210 Thompson St. and by then the rain began. I’ll talk more about that later. We just missed Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo spin some records but the Jay Vons were still playing and they’re always a great band to see live..full of soul and funky as hell. If you were in the back of the basement like me, you couldn’t see but you could definitely hear Dave Amels on the organ. The dude is badass on the keys. I made a couple more purchases at Generation like the new Bouncing Souls “Live at Generation” red vinyl. Oh Yes!
angel olsen
bow ribbons
After getting beat down by the storm and walking to Kim’s Video & Music on Ave. A, we rounded out the evening with a double in store performance by the beautiful and gentle sounds of Angel Olsen and Brooklyn’s own Bow Ribbons. Angel Olsen is a lo-fi folk singer out of Chicago who pours her soul into her somber tunes which sound like old songs from days long gone. The small crowd swayed and swooned to her crooning and sweet yodels. I wanted to get the new “Strange Cacti” on vinyl which was originally released on cassette, but the store sold out of all their copies. You go girl. It’s out now on Bathetic Records and I just might have to buy it online. I can’t wait any longer! Definitely be on the lookout when she plays at a venue near you. Bow Ribbons played next. Their gentle songs smolder but the one Bettye Lavette cover of “let me down easy” brought down the house. God damn, woman what a set of pipes! It was getting late and our original plans were to head over to Brooklyn to check out what was going down at Sound Fix, Permanent Records and Fat Beats, but the rain was relentless. There were lots of sad, broken umbrellas all over the sidewalk. It was definitely a lot of fun, we bought a ton of records and saw some awesome performances for free! Record Store Day 2012…Can’t come soon enough!
Tags: angel osen, bow ribbons, generation records, kim's video & music, new york city, other music, regina spektor
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Fiat Abarth 695!
April 20th, 2011 by Mr. C
Late 1960’s Fiat Abarth on mercer street by NYU on Record Store day! Steve Urkel posed as a model for a size perspective of the diminuitive 4 wheeler! Talk about a stylish urban assault vehicle!
Tags: fiat abarth 695
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Soul Brothers of Kung Fu (1977)
April 12th, 2011 by Mr. C
Director: Yi Jung Hua
Actors: Bruce Li, Law Mong, Ku Feng, Lee Hoi San, & Carl Scott
Genre: Brucesploitation
The Soul Brothers of Kung Fu comprise of actors, Ho Chung Tao aka Bruce Li, Law Mong, & Carl Scott! This chauncy is about 3 illegal immigrants played by Li, Carl Scott, & Law Mong from mainland china & the states(?) who work at the shipyards of Hong Kong in the late 1970’s. Two of the chinese soul brothers run into gangster lean types while working on the dockyard. These 2 would have no choice but to lash out with a few quarts of phoenix & dragon whoopass unto thy triads making them pussyfoot back to their leader with evidences of a serious beatdown in chinatown(Hong Kong)! The 3rd soul brother would slowly emerge played by brotherman, Carl Scott who gets a severe smackdown of his own while working on the job site by the same grease heads. Fortunately, the other two outlaws are there to pick up the afro pieces and unleash the beast for a nice chop socky feast! The fearless three band together as Carl Scott is anxious to learn all the extraordinary kickass asiatic moves from Bruce Li & Law Mong! Trouble seems to find the 3 amigos as the gang members are relentless in hot pursuit of them. Soon, the refuge of working in a nightclub will not be so secretive afterall as gangland finds the whereabouts of the trio. Ku Feng plays the most cunning of mob bosses as his leadership & fighting skills would lead you to believe that he is a henchmen disguised as a playboy. Fortunately, Ku Feng has the muscle of hong kong kickass veteran played by Lee Hoi San as one of his kung fu killing machines with a hard head! Lee Hoi San usually plays the role of a rabbid, off the meat rack Shaolin Monk that you don’t want to mess around with! Ku Feng will also use the power of the pussy to help lure one of the soul brothers astray in order to convince him to join their organization. This film is a frankeinstein’ed tale of friendships, hardships, & betrayals with lots of kung fu action…that I can ‘guaron-tee’ (in my best Louisianna southern accent!)
I’m not going to vouch for any of the academy award winning acting in this film that’s for sure, but the fighting choreography isn’t half bad for a brucesploitation flick! Having the horses in the movie that can actually screen fight definitely helps with the situation! Ho Chung Tao better known as “Bruce Li” for exploitation purposes is probably the best bruce lee imitator around. Not that anyone can ever peform the moves that Bruce can especially with his signature timestamp in passion and intensity with every movement that only he can deliver. But, Li is definitely one of the better clones around. Law Mong who plays number one soul brother is a studded presence in the film with his rock hard abs, forearms that popeye would take notice to, & a chest that would impress Bolo Yeung. Most of you old skool kung fu movie fans might know Law Mong in his roles as the Toad in the “5 Deadly Venoms” amongst his many venom brother roles with the Shaw Brother Studios. Most recently in 2010, he starred in “Gallants”. A movie that I really enjoyed with many throwback actors in the cast!
Carl Scott, the diminuitive 3rd soul brother from another mother in the film was also one bad azz mofo of a fighter! He doesn’t have as strong a role in the movie as the other two, but his kung fu-kempo skills is off the school yard! Scott has not been featured in many films as I can only think of two other ones he starred in, but his skill level is definitely extraordinary. It really blew me away when I saw a non-chinese (african brotherman) perform some really cool kung fu routines in the movie, “SUN DRAGON”. Carl Scott was blazin’ a crazy leopards fist style with some rabbid kicks, & showed off a pretty mean looking pole routine that the “8 Diagram Pole fighter” – Gordon Liu might say, ”RIGHT ON, Brotha” ! I always wondered why Scott didn’t get as famous as Jim Kelly or Ron Van Clief because he certainly was struttin’ the right stuff!
Veteran actors Lee Hoi San & Ku Feng will also add some spice & everything not so nice on the menu to thwart the advances of the Soul Brothers of Kung Fu! Check it, this movie is best caressed with some soul food or at least some chicken wings & fried rice…right,right!
Tags: bruce li, carl scott, ho chung tao, ku feng, law mong, lee hoi san, lo meng, soul brothers of kung fu
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Heavy Cream played Public Assembly
April 8th, 2011 by chocko
Straight outta Nashville…Heavy Cream played to a Brooklyn crowd last night in the back room of Public Assembly. They played another Brooklyn show last week at Death By Audio with but that got sold out and I’m sure got packed like sardines. The Public Assembly show was a little easier to get into and this was the second time I’ve seen them play. So far, I like what I see and hear. The band consists of 3 girls (Jessica on vocals, Mimi on guitar and Tiffany on drums) and 1 dude (Daniel on bass) and they play super catchy garage-punk songs that will make you lose your mind and hop along to the beat. This band has everything I like…girls, cool guitar riffs, thumping drums and songs that could have come off a Runaways or Ramones album. Jessica is an excellent frontwoman…always energetic and intense…the whole band is definitely fun to watch! They played for about 40 minutes and I can’t wait until they come back to play again. They’ve been playing the NYC area a lot lately in support of their new album, “Danny” which came out last summer on Infinity Cat Recordings which was produced by Jake Orrall of another Nashville band, JEFF The Brotherhood. It’s a really good debut album of 12 killer tracks guaranteed to make you pump your fist, get your heart pounding while you dance until the asscrack of dawn. Yeah, so go to your local record store and pick it up…you can’t miss it. The cover’s got 3 hot babes on a horse. C’mon you know you want it.
Tags: d.i.y., garage punk, heavy cream, infinity cat recordings, nashville band
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Pharoahe Monch performed at Best Buy NYC
April 7th, 2011 by chocko
Pharoahe Monch best known for his monster hit “Simon Says” in the late 90’s and for being in the group Organized Konfusion made a recent appearance at the Best Buy in Union Square in New York City on March 22 to perform some songs off his new album. The new album on Duck Down records is titled “W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)” and features 13 brand new tracks with guest appearances by artists such as Immortal Technique, Phonte, Jean Grae, Royce Da 5’9″, Citizen Cope and Jill Scott. It’s a great hip hop album and one of my favorite albums to come out so far in 2011. The lyrics are complex and his flow and delivery have remained one of the best in the industry. There was a decent amount of people there including some familiar faces in the crowd…Mr. Beatz, Dru Ha and Jean Grae in the building. Shoutout to the girl who baked Pharoahe Monch-themed cookies for the event. My cookie was decorated with a black fist with “w.a.r.” written on it…that was pretty gangsta and tasty too. DJ Boogie Blind provided the beats and his turntable skills while Monch performed a quick 3 song set with the help of two backup singers. The songs he performed off the new album were “Shine”, “Clap (One Day)” which also features DJ Boogie Blind on the album and “Still Standing.” Needless to say the crowd wanted more…Jean Grae was there, they could have done “Assassins” and the reason he didn’t even touch “Simon Says” was that there were too many curse words in it. What da? Afterwards, Monch signed stuff, shook hands and seemed like a nice and humble dude. Anyway, get the new album “W.A.R.” and check out Pharoahe Monch when he comes to a venue near you if you’re into that real hip hop. You know what I’m saying?!?
DJ Boogie Blind
Jean Grae with the salute! We had a good laugh after this photo.
Tags: best buy, duck down records, hip hop, underground, union square
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STREET SOLDIERS (1991)
April 7th, 2011 by Mr. C
Director: Lee Harry
Actors: Jun Chong, Hwang Jang Lee(Jason Hwang),Jeff Rector,David Homb
Genre: action, martial arts
I went rummaging into my VHS collection that I was about to set a blaze to & pulled out this gem, Street Soldiers in ‘it’s so bad that it’s so good’ category of film! STREET SOLDIERS is a 1990’s production that is a result of offspring when THE KARATE KID meets THE WARRIORS who are armed with guns then gets ejaculated on by DEATH WISH forefathers while a ROCKY & THE BEST OF THE BEST like soundtrack is being played in the background! The skinny of the film revolves around a ragged street gang called the JP’s who’s leader, “Priest” played by Jeff Rector gets released from prison after doing hard time. The JP’s terrorize the streets & swap meets of L.A., smacking down ho’s & chumps along the way. The gang also gets an extra boost of balls & a triple shot of testosterone when their fearless leader slithers his way back onto the scene! In comes some high school raggamuffins donning varsity jackets called the Tigers who interrupt the flow of JP street swagger. Teenagers get jumped, faces get spray painted, misfits get tae kwan do kicked, girls get smacked up, people get shot, & fools get stabbed! The Ed Mcmahon sweepstakes get turned up a notch when one of the Tigers has a hankering for one of PRIESTS’ old flames with which he wants to rekindle the fire with. Tae Kwan Do, knives, snakes, condoms, handguns, oozies, & bar brawl style bashings are the weapons of choice when getting to know one another! Jun Chong who plays Master Han teaches the Tigers the korean specialty of Tae Kwan Do to defend against the street neanderthals. Master Han would also have a purpose in his rage against the Priest & the JP’s. Jun Chong of course is the real life Tae Kwan Do/Hap Ki Do master from the Los Angeles area! Some of you might recognize Chong from the film, L.A. STREETFIGHTERS playing a role as a high school kid turned bouncer! Hell, if Dustin Nguyen can do it in 21 Jumpstreet, why not?
Another Tae Kwan do legend that graced this film was no other than, HWANG JANG LEE! On the ending film credits, he was acknowledged as Jason Hwang. Jason who? Hwang Jang Lee is better known & recognized as the kickass villain in Jackie Chan’s SNAKE IN THE EAGLES SHADOW & DRUNKEN MASTER amongst his vast filmography! You know…that guy that can use his legs for weapons as easy as you and I can eat a folded NY slice of pizza with a slight hunchback to drain the oil on the ground & walk at the same time! He is highly regarded as being one of the best martial art kickers that the film industry has ever seen! HJL plays a mute & crazed sidekick assassin to the psychopath, Mr. Priest in the film. Hwang also has a pet cobra snake that he commands on will to spew out venom to the opponents eyes! What? Like his kicking wasn’t enough! It’s really cool seeing HJL in street wear as opposed to period piece costumes. He dons a hat in the movie that even ODDJOB from GOLDFINGER would be jealous of & even shows a bit of his solid man cleavage with a buttoned down shirt & vest!
With Jun Chong & Hwang Jang Lee playing good vs evil, you know that a martial arts wetdream is in the horizon! Unfortunately, the end fight is a little bit underwhelming in my opinion, but you can’t deny the excellency of their techniques when these two famed Korean tae kwan do legends mix it up on the screen! That alone is worth the price of admission! The soundtrack of the film was also a knockoff throwback to a blend of similiar sounding tunes to the BEST OF THE BEST, ROADHOUSE, ROCKY, & THE LAST DRAGON! Especially during the training sessions & street chases! Guess they couldn’t afford the Kenny Loggins, Eric Carmen, or Blues Traveler of the world!
Jun Chong Martial Arts : 6340B Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA. 90048
Tags: david homb, hwang jang lee, jason hwang, jeff rector, jun chong, lee harry, street soldiers
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The Black Dragon’s revenge (1975)
March 29th, 2011 by Mr. C
Director: Chin Ku Lu
Actors: Ron Van Clief, Charles Bonet, Phillip Ko
The Black Dragon’s Revenge aka Death of Bruce Lee was one of many movies that surfaced after the sudden death of Bruce Lee on July 20th, 1973. A new genre of martial arts film would soon be born known as “Brucesploitation” in an attempt to grab box office sales with anything linked to the name Bruce lee. Yes, it seems sleazy & yes, the Hong Kong film industry wanted to leech on this for obvious reasons. They seized the opportunity to quench the thirst of fans with the fascination of the man, the myth, the legend of the diminuitive one. The production of some of these movies are quite frankenstein-esque, but it’s the formula of train wrecks in film that when it’s so bad, it makes it so good! This movie does NOT recreate a clone of Bruce Lee, but instead tells a tale of the speculation of the Little Dragon’s death. The Black Dragon, a hired gun from the USA is recruited to try and piece the puzzle together of who, what, why, & how Bruce died. He tag teams and karate kicks with another compatriot played by Charles Bonet. Upon the Black Dragon’s investigations in Hong Kong, he runs into a myriad of obstacles that hinders his search.
The Black Dragon character is played by the real life BLACK DRAGON himself, New York martial arts legend, RON VAN CLIEF. Bruce Lee had dubbed Van Clief as the Black Dragon upon their encounters in the late 60’s! Grandmaster Clief has been a big proponent of Goju-Ryu Karate in NYC since the 1960’s. He studied with the grandfather of NYC martial arts, Moses Powell as well as other famous teachers like Peter Urban & Wing Chun’s Leung Ting. He went on to develop his own hybrid style of fighting called Chinese Goju. Hanshi Charles Bonet who plays the Black Dragon’s sidekick in the film is also another big force in the NYC martial arts scene since the 1960’s. Bonet is of puerto rican descent and spent his time in the Bronx and Spanish Harlem. He was known as the “White Dragon” in the martial arts world. It seemed like the NYC martial arts community developed alot of badass mofos in the 1960’s-1980’s! The drug infested streets, poverty, grit, grime & crime of NYC helped bred a generation of tough, no nonsense individuals. Another common denominator with these two NYC fighting legends is that they both served in the military. Van Clief & Bonet are militiary & NYC street combat approved!
The martial arts action by these two in the film are fast & furious! I can tell you it’s raw with no special effects of any sorts. It’s the pure action of whoopass from these urban artists which manifests itself through the extension of their hands & feet whole heartedly without being tampered with from technology that makes these movies such a gem! Go check this film out in your nearest grindhouse theatre…or bootleg enclave!
The Black Dragon, Ron Van Clief , although relocated to the Virgin Islands, still has a New York state of mind. He conducts seminars & runs classes on the weekend on the beach!
The White Dragon, Hanshi Charles Bonet no longer resides in New York, but the nuyorican in him & his voice can never be denied. He has been teaching his Shorin-Kai International system in Arizona for at least a decade now.
Tags: black dragon's revenge, brucesploitation, charles bonet, chin ku lu, death of bruce lee, phillip ko, ron van clief
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John Leguizamo at Best Buy Union Square
March 27th, 2011 by Mr. C
John Leguizamo did an instore interview & CD signing at Best Buy Union Square with a host from urban latin radio to discuss his one man broadway act, “Ghetto Klown”. He was also there to promote his new music CD, JOHN LEGUIZAMO Ghetto Klown – MUSIC FROM MY HOOD which is a compilation of latin songs that he & his family grew up listening to. Some of the artists include Willie Colon, La Lupe, Celia Cruz, Fania All Stars, & Ray Barretto. A strong latin contingency showed up at this event or should I say ALL latin crowd besides this one martian in attendance with his C-Town converse all star stance ready to pay homage to this multi-talented NYC product! Leguizamo walked out & gave a big shoutout to all the NUYORICANS in the house before the commencements of small talk began!
I haven’t seen Ghetto Klown on broadway yet, but I have seen two of his other one person acts on broadway, FREAK & SEX-A-HOLIC! His one man broadway show renderings are too, freaking hilarious! All his shows on stage are reenacted stories from his childhood growing up in new york city with his colombian-puerto rican family which provides such a colourful palette of paint on a solid canvas that leads to noodles of laughter! Reading the brief synopsis of Ghetto Klown reveals that this latest project melds all the stories together from the 1960’s in NYC to the current times. The critics say Leguizamo’s impressions of Kurt Russell, Patrick Swayze, & Robert Deniro are spot on! I could almost start cackling & pig snorting thinking about his delivery of these impressions! I can’t wait to check it out before the broadway show closes in July. My favorite films of John Leguizamo includes Hangin with the Homeboys (Johnny), To Wong Foo (chichi), Carlito’s Way (Benny Blanco from the Bronx), Undefeated, & Empire! Leguizamo also made some drug lord cameos on MIAMI VICE! Now, that’s original gangster boogie! Also, do you guys remember a variety comedy show on Fox in the mid 90’s called HOUSE OF BUGGIN’ ?! Leguizamo rocked that jam as well. Man, IN LIVING COLOR and HOUSE OF BUGGIN’ ! Now, these 2 shows describe the 90’s to a tee in my book! It’s blazin hip hop, comedy, & R&B ! Homey don’t play dat! Throw in some grunge music & we’ll have a quadruple threat!
Tags: best buy, broadway show, compilation CD, ghetto klown, john leguizamo
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olek’s crochet art: a tribute to banksy’s balloon girl
March 26th, 2011 by Mr. C
Outside of the christopher henry gallery building 127 Elizabeth Street
Tags: christopher henry gallery, crochet art, olek, street art
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Muhammad and Larry : ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series
March 23rd, 2011 by Mr. C
Directed by Albert Maysles and Bradley Kaplan
ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series showed a cool film targeted at hurt fans & boxing historians alike called MUHAMMAD AND LARRY which chronicled the behind the scenes footage and training sessions leading to the boxing match on October 2, 1980 between the old lion, Muhammad Ali & the new tiger in the ring with the heavyweight title, the Easton Assassin, Larry Holmes. Larry served as a sparring partner in Ali’s younger days and they were very good friends to boot. Most believed that this fight should have never happened as a dilapidated Ali showed signs of father time & other neurological signs of impediment. But, who can deny the former champ if he wants to step in the ring for a cool 8 million? As far as Ali was concerned, the mirror told him that he still looked pretty as he gazed & asked the reflection of himself, who’s the fairest of them all? He felt like he could still pull a rabbit out of the hat & find a way to beat the Easton Assassin.
Here are some pretty interesting quotes from some of Ali confidants and other guests that were in the film including Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, trainer Angelo Dundee,assistant trainer Wali Muhammad, the wife of Larry Holmes, boxing historian Bert Sugar, & the famous cartoonist-writer for the Daily News, Bill Gallo.
Dr. Pacheco: “All the people involved in this fight should of been arrested. This fight was an abomination, a crime.”
Bill Gallo (Daily news cartoonist & writer): “There was no heart in it. All it was, was a glorious man slowly getting chopped down like a big tree.”
Howard Cosell: “Ali is learning that even he cannot be…forever young.”
Larry Holmes: “A lady came up to me and said Hi, I hate you”, Larry asked why? She said because you beat up Muhammad Ali.
Wali Muhammad: “Angelo Dundee had noticed that Ali’s speech & movements had been slower”.
Mrs. Holmes: “Nobody ever talks about Larry Holmes. Look how long it took before this story came out. Larry was always thought of as a shadow of Ali, & not a successor.” “A couple of times, Larry wanted them to stop the fight in the ring because they were friends, close friends.”
Bert Sugar (after the Ali vs Holmes fight): “Ali ran out of miracles. He was a man magician that wasn’t. He had a job but didn’t”
Angelo Dundee: “Ali says the mirror tells him that he’s got a chance, who’s the fairest of them all.”
The consensus was that Ali’s camp, Holmes’ camp, & boxing experts all knew that Ali showed signs of wear & tear, neurological damage, & weight gain. His punch output had slowed down tremendously, & he was going into the ring with the Champ, the Easton Assassin, a far less traveled warrior with lots of pep in his step, & an excruciating stinging jab as a firearm. Holmes knew that it was a lose-lose situation. If he knocked out & beatup the legendary champ, he was supposed to. But if he lost, that would of been devastating. Although, the odds were severly against that outcome. Larry Holmes did not take this fight lightly as Ali is still Ali. This was still his biggest fight yet that would earn him a cool 8 million in 1980. I guess Muhammad Ali was still very confident with his victorious rematch 2 years earlier on 9/15/1978 against Leon Spinks. I’m also very sure, the 8 million he was offered to fight the Easton Assassin didn’t hurt, either.
Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, the fight doctor for Ali, was totally against Ali fighting after the Thrilla’ in Manila with Joe Frazier. Pacheco witnessed training techniques from Ali in the Holmes preparation including taking blows on the side of his body to toughen it up. Pacheco responded, “you can’t toughen up the kidney’s”. After the Holmes massacre on Ali, a reporter asked Pacheco: Were there any questions on why Ali fell apart? The doctor responded: “Ali was talking slower, mumbling his speech, walking slower, & punching less. He can see him falling apart and if he keeps on fighting, he’s going straight to the grave. Pacheco said that after the Thrilla’ in Manila fight, Ali was mumbling his speech.” In July of of 1980 before the fight, Muhammad Ali checked himself into the Mayo clinic for a full report on a renal & neurological exam as stated by the boxing commission. After the exams, the report showed that Ali had a slight degree of missing the target when touching his finger to his nose. It was also reported that he showed signs of short term memory loss. This of course wasn’t made public at the time while the boxing commission continued on with the fight.
No need for me to regurgitate the fight results between Ali vs Holmes in Las Vegas on October 2nd, 1980. All you need to know is that Ali was bruised & battered while Holmes looked pretty like a beast from the Serengeti. Holmes wanted the referee to stop the fight because it was a total abomination & domination for 10 rounds. Angelo Dundee finally stopped the fight after the 10th round in mercy of his wounded warrior who probably could of continued to finish the fight like a zombie.
Some cool tidbits from this film that I didn’t know beforehand was that Muhammad Ali loved to perform card tricks and magic. He performed the take a bite off of the quarter trick & spit it back to recreate a full coin! I’ve seen David Blaine do this trick once before! He definitely was a master of illusion & the slight of hand! In hindsight, this makes total sense! Fast hands & quick movements! Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!
Ali’s quote from the movie: “I’m the master of illusion. Ali is my name, but magic is my game!” Another fun quote from him in the documentary: “Aint’t I pretty..since I’ve grown my mustache, you can call me Dark Gable.”
Larry Holmes seemed like a very dignified heavyweight champ who had an amazing career. He never did rise from the shadows of ali, but proved to be a very fitting successor in taking the heavyweight champ baton from the legend himself. I feel he is one of the most underrated champions of all time. Even Mike Tyson admitted on the “CenterStage” show with Michael Kay on the YES network that had it been the younger Larry Holmes that Tyson fought in the ring, Tyson would of had some trouble with the size, savviness, ring generalship, & jab of the Easton Assassin! A few funny scenes of Larry Holmes from the documentary included him driving in his pimpin’ car, putting in a music cassette in the stereo, & singing to a Kool & a gang “ladies night” instrumental with modified Holmes lyrics! Seconds later, he would then call his wife in some spaceship looking brick shaped mobile phone in the car to warn her that he’s got 3 car loads of the film crew about to invade the house! Ironically, at the end of the movie, 30 years later, a new millenium edition of Larry Holmes came on the screen while driving his pimpin’ car, a little puffier in the face wearing glasses while talking to his wife on his cell phone via bluetooth! The Easton Assassin seems to be at peace with himself & enjoying life to the fullest with his family in Easton, Pennsylvania! Live it up champ! It’s really nice to hear a happy ending in a tale of a professional hurt man! Fairy tale endings for boxers usually don’t go hand in hand.
Tags: 30/30, albert maysles, ali, boxing, boxing documentary, bradley kaplan, espn 30 for 30, holmes, muhammad and larry
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Darlings played Kim’s Video and Music
March 19th, 2011 by chocko
On March 15, Darlings released their new EP and played a local video and music store in New York City. The band set up shop in front of the blaxploitation, giallo and porno shelves and played catchy pop-punk songs that reminded me of old Sebadoh and Pavement tunes, but with female vocals thrown in the mix. Darlings is made up of four friends who met during their college years at NYU and started playing together in 2007. Peter Rynsky (guitar and vocals), Maura Lynch (guitars and vocals), Joe Tirabassi (bass) and Matt Solomon (drums) played a bunch of upbeat garage-pop tunes to a crowd of people wedged between the used CDs and vinyl racks. They played a decent amount of tunes: a couple from their new EP titled “Warma” on Famous Class Records which they recorded last year and newer songs too. I believe this was the first in-store performance at Kim’s Video and Music since their move to 124 1st Ave. and it was definitely a nice one and hopefully there will be more to come. Darlings have a couple shows coming up in the near future: March 25 The Record Release Show with So So Glos, Snakes Say Hiss, Sundelles and Teen Witch at 285 Kent Ave. in Brooklyn 7 p.m. ($7) and April 12 at Glasslands 289 Kent Ave. in Brooklyn 8:30 p.m. ($8 adv) with Surf City, Lingering Doubts and Little Racer.
Tags: ep, famous class records, new york band, warma
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The 13 Steps of Maki (1975)
March 16th, 2011 by Mr. C
Directed by: Makoto Naitô (1975)
Starring: Etsuko Shihomi as Maki
Tatsuya Nanjo as Tetsuya Eto
Hiroshi Nawa as Ryunosuke Daimon, the Yakuza Boss
After further analysis, Cynthia Rothrock & Angela Mao might have some serious competition as the reigning belt holder of being the most revered onscreen kickass chick! Etsuko Shihomi, who is better known for her Sister Street Fighter roles with Sonny Chiba plays Maki, a leader of the stray cats gang! She is the mother hen that nurtures her runaway, outlaw sister chicks. She teaches the stray cat members her deadly form of karate in order to protect themselves from the doggy dog world of rival switchblade sister gangs in the classic sense & one that is in disguise of a corporate entity. The opening scene of the movie involves a pair of tortured & bruised up stray cat members who are tied flat on their backs on the railroad tracks waiting for some fresh skidmarks. Maki suddenly appears on the scene with a white overcoat, her number 13 black top, & her red gloves to whip some urban ass with her powerful & rhythmic flow of karate while performing some amazing spinning back kicks, jumping front, side, hook, & crescent kicks, rabbid school of hard knock punches, & some aikido like throws! Beautiful & deadly, Maki shows the thugs what’s up! The opening soundtrack & theme song of the film got me real psyched up to do a few ki-yaa’s myself & take a some swigs of sake at the same time!
Despite the Stray Cat Gang’s badass reputation, other rivals most notably Takako, a daughter of a tycoon business owner of Ebihara Tourism challenges Maki & her crew. Ebihara hires a tight fisted, street fighting karate expert named Eto to go toe to toe, mano y mano, man vs woman with number 13! Another interesting scene in the movie involves a woman getting stripped down against her will while a traditional japanese tattoo done the old school method was being freshly laid upon her! The two rival parties go back and forth with each other when a Yakuza clan comes in swift like an eagle to eat up the Ebihara Tourism empire and their lucrative business of their Geishas of Sukiyaki in which they planned to open up branches in New York & L.A. .
Meanwhile, Maki has family issues of her own while pondering on the whereabouts of her long lost brother played by Sonny chiba(brief cameo appearance) who hasn’t returned from L.A. yet. The Yakuza clan uses false information of the whereabouts of Maki’s brother to lure the other stray cat members in to kidnap them. Their ultimate goal is to drug up the stray cats, & the geisha girls of Ebihara, sex them up & then sell them overseas to the underworld. Maki also gets the hook, line, & sinker as she gets framed for robbery & intrusion when she tries to save the ladies! Off to jail she goes! The ginga gang catches up to Maki in prison & some cat fighting is definitely on the menu! In the end, # 13 will find her way out & collaborate with whoever’s left with Ebihara Tourism in order to eradicate the Yakuza! Some serious single & double nunchaku fare will be offered by Maki on her quest of vengeance, you can believe that!
If you want some no nonsense old school karate served up by a cute but deadly chick, check this joint out! I could picture 13 Steps of Maki selling out to grindhouse crowds at 42nd street/Times Square in the 1970’s! In my martian opinion, the 13 Steps of Maki is Etsuko Shihomi’s best film! Better than the Sister Streetfighter series & Dragon Princess, fo sho! Grab a bag of dried octopus, some pocky chocolates, & some mochi and enjoy the hell outta’ the MAKI! Just be sure that junior isn’t around because flashing tities and rebel yells have been known to make some cameo appearances in this jam! Thanks to grandmaster HAZ from Kung Fu Cinema for providing a remastered AND 1st ever english subbed copy of this classic!
Note: This review is in conjunction with the Japanese Cinema Blogathon to help aid the recent natural disasters in Japan, hosted by JapanCinema and CinemaFanatic.
courtesy of kkamagi on Youtube
Tags: etsuko shihomi, hiroshi nawa, japanese, karate action, makoto naito, shiomi, sonny chiba, sue shiomi, tatsuya nanjo
Posted in movies, mr. c | Comments (1)
