MUXWORTHY REVUE

Blaqart Radio Retribution Episode 7 Chris of The Snips and Blaqart's Favorite Albums of 2012

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 14:15:07 -0500

On this episode I list my favorite albums of 2012 and have random conversation with Chris of The Snips.

Get the album for free or make a donation and buy a copy at www.thesnips.com

today’s program brought you by www.melaniekayepr.com

My favorite albums of 2012:

The Quakes - Planet Obscure - January 2012 Buy
Foxy Shazam - The Church of Rock and Roll - January 24, 2012 Buy
Therapy? - A Brief Crack Of Light - February 14, 2012 Buy
Anti-Flag - The General Strike - March 20, 2012 Buy
The Shins - Port Of Morrow March 20, 2012 Buy
Imperial State Electric - Pop War - March 2012 Buy
MXPX - Plans within Plans - April 3, 2012 Buy
Matt Skiba and The Sekrets - Babylon - April 30th 2012 Buy
Rise To Remain - City Of Vultures - June 5 2012 Buy
Matt Toka - Matt Toka - June 08, 2012 Buy
The Shell Corporation - Time & Pressure EP - June 5, 2012 Buy
The Agonist - Prisoners - June 5, 2012 Buy
Whitechapel - Whitechapel - June 19, 2012 Buy
The Ghost Inside - Get What You Give - June 19, 2012 Buy
Gojira - L’Enfant Sauvage - June 26, 2012 Buy
Christian Martucci - Riding The Blinds - June 29, 2012 Buy
Calabrese - Dayglo Necros July 1, 2012 Buy
Reel Big Fish Candy Coated Fury - July 31, 2012 Buy
Upbeat Allstars - Wake Up - August 6 2012 Buy
In This Moment - Blood - August 14, 2012 Buy
The Snips - Highs Of Low - August 14, 2012 Buy
Billy Talent - Dead Silence - September 4, 2012 Buy
NOFX - Self-Entitled - September 11, 2012 Buy
The Casualties - Restistance - September 25th, 2012 Buy
The Insurgence - Elimi-Nation - October 2, 2012 Buy
Hostage Calm - Please Remain Calm - October 9, 2012 Buy
Doomed To Obscurity - Pipe Bomb - October 2012 Buy
River Jumpers - Chapters - October 12 2012 Buy
Fear - The Fear Record - Nov 6, 2012 Buy
Saint Alvia - Static Psalms - December, 2012 Buy

Hostage Calm | Audiotree

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:46:00 -0500

Hostage Calm | Audiotree:

A great band. A solid performance.

GEVA’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON CONTINUES WITH NEXT TO NORMAL

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:25:00 -0500

Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical rings in 2013.

Rochester, N.Y., December 12, 2012 – One family faces the music as Geva Theatre Center’s 40^th Anniversary Season continues with Next to Normal with music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and directed by Scott Schwartz. This landmark musical begins performances on January 8 and runs in the Elaine P. Wilson Mainstage through February 10.

Diana seems to have it all: a handsome, loving husband and two talented, teenage children. It is soon obvious, however, that life for Diana is far more difficult than it seems. She has been dealing with severe depression and delusions since tragedy struck her marriage nearly 16 years earlier. As she continues to seek countless treatments, medications and therapies to help her return to a normal life, her family begins finding their own desperate ways to deal with her illness and their own loss. Featuring an electrifying contemporary score of more than 30 songs, this groundbreaking, Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical is an emotional powerhouse.

Next to Normal began life in 1998 as a ten-minute workshop sketch called Feeling Electric. By 2002, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey had expanded it to a full-length musical and, after a series of workshops over the ensuing five years; Next to Normal was ready for its Off-Broadway debut in 2008. It was subsequently rewritten and re-launched later that year at Arena Stage in Washington, DC where it received rave reviews. The show transferred to Broadway’s Booth Theatre in March 2009 where it set box office records and played for over 750 performances. Next to Normal was nominated for eleven 2009 Tony Awards, garnering three, including Best Original Score and Best Orchestration. It won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and it is only the eighth musical to do so. In awarding the 2010 prize to Kitt and Yorkey, the Pulitzer Board called the show “a powerful rock musical that grapples with mental illness in a suburban family and expands the scope of subject matter for musicals.” According to Theatre Communications Group, Next to Normal is the most produced musical during the 2012-2013 regional theatre season.

Geva’s production of Next to Normal features Catherine Porter (Broadway’s Next to Normal, West End and Australian productions of Sunset Boulevard (the latter opposite Hugh Jackman), the international tour of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (opposite Michael Crawford)) as Diana; Broadway veteran Bob Gaynor (Broadway’s Leap of Faith, Catch Me If You Can, Sweet Charity, Boy George’s Taboo and Elton John’s Aida) as her husband, Dan; and Cary Tedder (Original Broadway casts of The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Memphis) as their son, Gabe. The ensemble cast includes Jordan Craig (Henry), Lyndsay Ricketson (Natalie), and Googie Uterhardt (Dr. Fine/Dr. Madden).

Next to Normalis a co-production with the Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre of Atlanta and is directed by Scott Schwartz, who returns to Geva where he directed the world premiere of ROOMS: A Rock Romance (2008-2009 Season). The musical director is Don Kot with choreography by Michael Jenkinson, and the design team includes Kevin Rigdon (scenic design), Sydney Roberts (costume design), Mike Baldassari (lighting design) and Clay Benning (sound design).

The 2012-2013 Mainstage Season is sponsored by Nocon & Associates, A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Next to Normal is produced with lead support from First Niagara, co-produced by Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP and Rockcastle Florist with additional support from WARM 101.3, City Newspaper and CW.

Next to Normal begins performances January 8 and runs in the Mainstage through February 10.

For further information, photographs or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Dawn Kellogg, Communications Manager, (585) 232 1366 x 3059

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Previews: January 8, 9 and 10 @ 7:30pm

January 11 @ 8pm

January 12 @ 2pm (Open Captioned Performance*)

Opening: Saturday, January 12 @ 8pm

Performances: Sunday, January 13 @ 2pm and 7pm

Tuesday, January 15 @ 6pm

Wednesday, January 16 @ 7:30pm

Thursday, January 17 @ 7:30pm

Friday, January 18 @ 8pm

Saturday, January 19 @ 4pm and 8:30pm

Sunday, January 20@ 2pm (Sunday Salon) and 7pm

Tuesday, January 22 @ 7:30pm

Wednesday, January 23 @ 7:30pm

Thursday, January 24 @ 7:30pm

Friday, January 25 @ 8pm

Saturday, January 26 @ 4pm and 8:30pm

Sunday, January 27 @ 2pm (Audio Described Performance) and 7pm

Tuesday, January 29 @ 7:30pm

Wednesday, January 30 @ 2pm and 7:30pm

Thursday, January 31 @ 7:30pm (Sign Interpreted Performance)

Friday, February 1 @ 8pm

Saturday, February 2 @ 4pm and 8:30pm

Sunday, February 3 @ 2pm (Sunday Salon)

Tuesday, February 5 @7:30pm

Wednesday, February 6 @ 7:30pm

Thursday, February 7@ 7:30pm

Friday, February 8 @ 8pm

Saturday, February 9 @ 4pm and 8:30pm

Sunday, February 10 @ 2pm and 7pm (closing performance)

TICKET PRICES: Tickets start at $25.

RESERVATIONS: (585) 232-GEVA (4382), Website: www.gevatheatre.org

LOCATION: Geva Theatre Center , 75 Woodbury Blvd , Rochester , NY 14607

* Open captioning is being provided, in part, by TDF and TAP Plus which is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature

GEVA THEATRE CENTER

Founded in 1972, Geva Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional theatre company dedicated to creating and producing professional theatre productions, programs and services of a national standard. As Rochester’s leading professional theatre, Geva Theatre Center is the most attended regional theatre in New York State, and one of the 25 most attended in the country, serving up to 160,000 patrons annually, including more than 16,000 students.

The 552-seat Elaine P. Wilson Mainstage is home to a wide variety of performances, from musicals to American and world classics. The 180-seat Ron & Donna Fielding Nextstage is home to Geva’s own series of contemporary drama, comedy and musical theatre; Geva Comedy Improv; Geva’s New Play Reading Series and the Hornet’s Nest - an innovative play-reading series facilitating community-wide discussion on controversial topics. In addition, the Nextstage hosts visiting companies of both local and international renown.

Geva Theatre Center offers a wide variety of educational, outreach and literary programs, nurturing audiences and artists alike. Since 1995, the organization has been under the artistic direction of Mark Cuddy.

Blaqart Radio Retribution Episode 6 Burly Calling Special

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:32:00 -0500

Blaqart Radio Retribution Episode 6 Burly Calling Special:

An entire episode dedicated to the promotion of the Canadian festival Burly Calling VI in Burlington, Ontario.

Special guests include: Chris of The Snips, Ben of Saint Alvia, and Steve of The Lucky Ones provided by melaniekayepr.com

Hear an unreleased Saint Alvia song

Podcast Album Art by Matt Darling

More info at www.burlycalling.com

Burly Calling Schedule:

Thursday December 6 – Joe Dog’s – Spicolis / Chambers

BURLY CALLING TOY DRIVE
Admission: $5 ar a toy
Doors at 8:00pm
19+
JOE DOGS 531 Brant St.
MAP - WEBSITE

UPSTAIRS
11:30 – ???? – The Spicolis
10:20 – 11: 20 – The Snips
9:40 – 10:10 – Youthinasia
9: 00pm – 9:30 – Adelleda

DOWNSTAIRS
11: 40 – ???? JEREMEY CHAMBERS
10 : 50 – 11: 25 – MAC-N-AWE w/ MCB
10: 00 – 10: 35 – SPESH K
Friday December 7 – Boston Manor – Grade

BURLY CALLING PRESENTS: GRADE
Boston Manor 4460 Fairview St.
Admission: $20
Doors at 8pm
19+
TICKETS – MAP – WEBSITE

Line-up
11: 40 – 12:40 – Grade
10 : 50 – 11:30 – Organ Thieves
10:10 – 10: 40 – This Is The Noise
9:30 – 10:00 – The Video Dead
Friday December 7 – The Dickens – Dodger

BURLY CALLING PRESENTS: DODGER
The Dickens 423 Elizabeth St.
Admission $10 or Burly Calling Wrist Band
Doors At 9pm
19+
TICKETS – MAP – WEBSITE

Line-up
Lo-Fi – 1:00 – ????
Dodger – 12:00 – 12:50
Killin Time – 11:00 – 11:50
Stoneland – 10:10 – 10: 50
Friday December 7 – The Queenshead – Wooden Sky

BURLY CALLING PRESENTS: THE WOODEN HANDS
The Queenshead 400 Brant St.
Admission $10 or Burly Calling Wrist Band
doors at 9pm
19+
TICKETS - MAP – WEBSITE

Line-up
12: 00 – ???? – The Wooden Sky
10:50 – 11: 50 – New Hands
10:00 – 10:40 – Monarch Project
Friday December 7 – Rude Native – Acoustic Stage

BURLY CALLING PRESENTS: ACOUSTIC STAGE
Rude Native 370 Brant St.
Admission $10 or Burly Calling Wrist Band
Doors at 9pm
19+
TICKETS - MAP – WEBSITE

Line-up
1:10 am – ???? – Chuck Coles
12:40 – 1:05 – Katie Bulley
12:10 -12:35 -Bianca Bernardi
11:20 – 11:45 -Jon Goldie
10:45 – 11: 10 – Cormac Cleary
10:10 – 10:35 – Laura Mitic
Saturday December 8 – YMCA – Walk Off the Earth

BURLY CALLING PRESENTS: WALK OFF THE EARTH
Ron Edwards YMCA
500 Drury Lane
General Admission/ All Ages
$15
Doors at 6pm
TICKETS – MAP – WEBSITE

line-up
9:20 – 10:30 Walk Off The Earth
8:40 – 9:10 (the) Saint Alvia ( cartel )
8:00 – 8:30 : KIllin’ Time
7:25 – 7:50 : Hollowed Hearts
Saturday December 8 – Boston Manor – Monster Truck

BURLY CALLING PRESENTS: MONSTER TRUCK
Boston Manor 4460 Fairview St.
Admission: $20
Doors at 8pm
19+
TICKETS – MAP – WEBSITE

Line-up
11:00 – 12:00 – Monster Truck
10:00 – 10:50 – The Dirty Nil
9:10 – 9:50 – Teenage Kicks
Saturday December 8 – The Dickens – Silverstein

BURLY CALLING PRESENTS: SILVERSTEIN
The Dickens 423 Elizabeth St.
Admission $10 or Burly Calling Wrist Band
Doors At 9pm
19+
TICKETS – MAP – WEBSITE

Line-up
12:00 – ???? – Silverstein
11:10 – 11:40 – The Penske File
10:35 -11:00 – Aerith
10:00 -10:25- Careers In Science
9:30 – 9:50 – Castor Troys

Saturday December 8 – The Queenshead – The reason

BURLY CALLING PRESENTS: THE REASON
The Queenshead 400 Brant St.
Admission $10 or Burly Calling Wrist Band
doors at 9pm
19+
TICKETS - MAP – WEBSITE

Line-up
12:30 – ???? – The Reason
11:40 – 12:20 -(the) Saint Alvia ( cartel )
11:00 -11:30 – The Lucky Ones
10:20 – 10:50 – Bombing Neverland
9:40 – 10:10 – June & July

Saturday December 8 – Rude Native – Acoustic Stage

BURLY CALLING PRESENTS: ACOUSTIC STAGE
Rude Native 370 Brant St.
Admission $10 or Burly Calling Wrist Band
Doors at 9pm
19+
TICKETS - MAP – WEBSITE
Line-up
1:10 am – ???? Johnny Lubera
12:40 – 1:05 – Aitch
12:10 -12:35 – Amberly B
11:20 – 11:45 – Ashley Sloggett
10:45 – 11: 10 – Trouble & Daughter
10:10 – 10:35 – Andrew Irving

Blaqart Radio Retribution Episode 5 - Andy Cairns of Therapy? and Nicholas Davis of River Jumpers

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:52:00 -0500

A special Bonus UK Edition episode featuring two interviews.

The first is with Andy Cairns of the band Therapy? http://www.therapyquestionmark.co.uk/

The second is with Nicholas Davies of the band River Jumpers
http://riverjumpers.bandcamp.com/

Blaqart Radio Retribution Episode 4 With Lee Ving Of Fear

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 21:28:16 -0500

Lee Ving of Fear Calls in and talks us through each track on the new album from Fear called The Fear Record, released via The End Records, a ground-breaking 2012 re-recording of the landmark debut 1982 album The Record. I also take a break from the album preview and interview to play songs from:

Doomed To Obscurity - One More War

The Casualties - Warriors On The Road

Smoking Popes - Rubella

The Quakes - Festa Do Estica E Puxa

Calabrese - The Dead Don’t Rise

No Trigger - Insider (Executive/Amputee)

NOFX - Cell Out

River Jumpers - Chapters

Sister Sin - In It For Life

Fear - No More Nothing

Feel free to send all Submission, Questions, Feedback, Complaints to
blaqartradioretribution@yahoo.com

Blaqart Radio Retribution Episode 3

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 23:28:00 -0400

Steven Blaqart plays select songs from 2012 and 2011, unsigned artists and signed artists:

Title Fight - Numb, But I Still Feel It

NOFX - Ronnie and Mags

Doomed To Obscurity - Pipe Bomb

Upbeat Allstars - Heartbreaker

Billy Talent - Viking Death March

The Insurgence - Elimi-Nation

The Casualties - Morality Police

The Shell Corporation - Not Me

MxPx - Stay On Your Feet

Crumb Catcher - Kid In The Well

River Jumpers - Substance & Integrity

Hostage Calm - Don’t Die On Me Now

Living With Lions - Honesty, Honesty

The Dead Milkmen - Meaningless Upbeat Happy Song

Face To Face - It’s Not All About You

The Limit Club - Life Of Crime

Dwarves - The Dwarves Are Still The Best Band Ever

Questions, complaints, and submissions should be sent to blaqartradioretribution@yahoo.com

This show is available for subscription through iTunes

Muxworthy At Home

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 18:00:31 -0400

MUXWORTHY AT HOME

by Lisa Storm and Steven Blaqart

The red eyes were staring at him. Again.

Maxwell Muxworthy stared deep into the red pupils searching for a sign of robotic life. The green and red orbs stood silent, ominous on the edge of the bathroom counter slightly smooshed from being in his pocket as he pressed against Sandy’s slim form whilst they moved around the dance floor.

Muxworthy’s body burned – hip, thigh, and chest – as he remembered their impromptu dance, how Sandy’s body had pressed into his skin. It had been too long since he had touched another human being. It was becoming a dangerous distraction.

Or maybe it was the alcohol still eating at his brain.

The red eyes wobbled on the grey granite then rolled to one side.

“Camera!” Muxworthy blurted out, he had to find the fucking camera Olive Security hid in his drink earlier and destroy the damned thing before something disastrous befell him. Before Sandy sobered up or passed out. Before the interrogation began.

He had set his dance partner on his bed after stumbling into his one room apartment and turning on the television to distract Sandy’s roaming hands. The last thing he needed was for her to find the olives.

“Duty calls,” he had exclaimed, donning his soldier mentality, giving himself needed distance from the inviting figure occupying his bed.

Sandy giggled, “Eww that’s gross, definitely too much info, Muxy. Why do all men think they have to announce to the world when they have to take a dump? This isn’t Facebook.”

Muxworthy’s face felt hot as he realized what he had just implied. He opened his mouth to explain to this drunken fool what he meant, and then snapped it shut again. If she wanted to believe he was going to relieve himself what was the big deal anyway? It would give him a few minutes alone with the olives and his precision agency issued screwdriver.

And here he stood, screwdriver in trembling hand, ready to dissect and destroy. Ready to complete his mission. Unfortunately, when he was sent back in time by the agency, he was not fashioned with the high tech lab in which he was used to working. Now he had to make due with this lousy bathroom counter and the tiny screwdriver in his wobbly hand.

“Hi-ya,” he cried as he slashed at one olive. The slashed orb split apart, revealing a red pimento, a slush of alcohol. No camera.

“Damn it,” Muxworthy pushed his two forefingers into his furrowed forehead, taking a deep breath to steady his wandering thoughts. He had to find proof that Olive Security existed in this time.

If he failed his mission he’d have to go home. He’d have to return to the twisted cold metal, black-clouded world where no one said good morning or brought coffee for the office. No donut parties. Muxworthy had acquired a taste for luscious lemon donuts and was not looking forward to returning to the land of soulless pastries so many decades into the future.

Two more olives to go.

Muxworthy slashed out again, destroying another Olive, revealing nothing more than red and green mush. His breath deepened, his heartbeat kicked up a notch. His gaze met the small circular red glare of the olive. He fell into that stare, needles and pins dancing along his skin, lips pulled into a harsh line.

“It’s just you and me now, Lovey. There’s no place to run. I am coming for you.”

Static flashed within the red eyes, Muxworthy blinked, shook his head.

He shouldn’t have had that last vodka but what could he do? He had to play along. When fuck George bought him a drink after he tore up the dance floor, he couldn’t say no. He had to play along with the ‘zero to hero’ scenario he had set in motion on the dance floor.

Humans were so easy to manipulate. The entire bar had been the right age group. He was sure more than half had seen at least one sappy John Hughes movie. And so he became the dolt who turns a stumbling, snore fest into a cabaret. Everyone wanted to hang with him. Women wanted to talk in hushed whispers to him and squeeze his arm. Everyone wanted to buy him and Sandy drinks.

The drinks were plenty and the laughter bawdy and ear piercing.

“I am shit faced,” Sandy yelled into his face.

“Yes, the look suits you,” he returned in her ear, taking that moment to allow himself to bury his nose in her sweet smelling hair.

To keep from getting too drunk, Muxworthy devised a plan. He used the much lauded ‘down the hatch’ guise his fellow soldiers laughed about at home, and which he himself had never believed would work. Until this night.

Muxworthy would lead the toast, gather about him the cloistered inebriated and then raise his glassed hand.

“To the best group of ass hats I’ve ever had the displeasure of working with,” he shouted in a good-natured tone, “down the hatch!”

And the ass hats would cheer and chug down their drinks not realizing Muxworthy had tossed his drink over his shoulder. Maxwell got into the spirit of the night toasting the mole on Suzie’s neck, Fuck George’s toupee, and even the waitress’s fish net stockings. He could have toasted Monet’s baldhead if the tone of his voice was excited and cheery enough. The lemmings.

“Down the hatch,” Muxworthy had lifted his drink for the last time. Sandy stumbled into Maxwell just as he tossed his alcohol over his shoulder. His glass went sailing over Fuck George’s shoulder, into the face of a passing waitress carrying a tray of cocktails.

Glass and alcohol went flying. The room erupted in screams of shock, horror, laughter, and cheers.

Muxworthy grabbed Sandy’s hand and pulled her to the door.

“What happened?” Sandy asked, looking up into his face with a dreamy smashed look on her face.

Muxworthy shook his head in mock horror. “George asked if we wanted to go back to his apartment and fool around.”

“What?” Sandy bawked.

“Says his wife needs new blood.” he took her by the arm, firm and strong.

“I don’t want to fuck, Fuck George,” Sandy pouted.

“Hence the speedy getaway.”

They stumbled out of the door and down the cobbled street toward Muxworthy’s apartment.

“I didn’t say I wanted to fuck you either, Muxy,” Sandy informed him, suddenly seeming in control of her faculties. “I have mace and I’m not afraid to use it.”

“Parrish the thought, Sandy. I have no designs on your personage. I thought it best to have you sober up at my place. I’ll call a cab later on, I don’t want you driving in that state, and I don’t want Fuck George taking advantage of you either.”

Sandy sighed, leaned into his arm. “You sure talk funny, Muxy.”

“My pleasure, Sandy.”

Now he was hiding in the bathroom, trying to save humanity, and Sandy was passed out in his bed.

Muxworthy sighed. If only duty had not called…but then what?

A slight flush tinted Maxwell’s cheeks. It had been years since he had a sexual encounter. He pressed his lips together, not wanting to remember, yet unable to stop the images from pushing into his consciousness.

He should’ve known better than to buy Berta the sexbot off of the internet. And he should’ve realized why she was so cheap, damn it all.

It had all happened so fast…if only he had realized. But, hell, he was only sixteen. And he had never had an encounter with a sexbot, nor had he ever lain with a human female.

There he was on his little cot under the stairs, pumping away to beat the band, Berta moaning with each sloppy thrust and then she opened her metal mouth and cried, “Fuck me harder, Shorty!”

It was traumatizing. It was embarrassing. It was as if someone turned the hose on him. He shriveled inside the plastic female sex port.

“My name’s Max,” he cried as he jumped off the bed, naked except for a pair of bright white tube socks.

Berta’s moans continued.

Max folded his arms across his chest and cleared his throat. “I’m over here.”

Berta blinked her eyes, “Uh, oh. I did not realize your proboscis had evacuated my sex port, Shorty.”

‘You can fuck yourself, Berta,” Max snapped, reaching over and turning off his first and only walk on the wild side.

Right then and there Muxworthy had sworn off the opposite sex, not before logging onto Ebids and leaving a negative review on Shorty453’s profile.

It had been easy to abstain, really. The women in the agency were more like fellow soldiers, killing and dying in the field. Worn. Rough around the edges, never wearing make up, most of them shaving off their hair in an attempt to look like men or Sigourney Weaver.

“Oh Muxy, you’ve gotta try this ride,” Sandy moaned from somewhere outside the door.

Muxworthy’s head snapped up.

“Oh god Muxy, this is making me…”

Her voice sounded low with a slight tinge of panic and he heard her feet scuttling toward the bathroom.

The door flew open. Maxwell yelped, olive and screwdriver sailing across wet tile. He assumed the fighting crane of death position.

“I’m gonna puke.”

This rousing announcement was accompanied by a series of wet sounding dry heaves as Sandy pushed passed him to hug the toilet bowl.

“Good God, woman, how much did you drink?” at least with a sex bot there was no danger of getting drenched in vomit.

After Sandy tossed the contents of her stomach, she rolled over on to the tile next to Maxwell’s shower, moaning.

Muxworthy walked over to her, bent over and picked her up, ignoring her weak slaps.

“Let me die,” Sandy moaned, reaching out for the toilet.

“You are such a drama queen,” Maxwell said somewhat tenderly. “I’m not leaving you in here to sleep on the cold floor.”

He threw her over his shoulder, tossed her on the bed, and shut the blinds. He kicked off his shoes as he checked the perimeters of the room.

‘Coming up, World’s Wildest Coasters takes you on a first person ride aboard the Montana Seven Flags coaster The Sky Raper…’ the television announced and Muxworthy slapped his face into his palm.

When he was convinced the space was bot free, Muxworthy did something he knew he would regret with the rising of the sun.

Instead of interrogating Sandy like he had planned, he pulled a black chair next to the bed, stretched out his long legs and drowsily watched the worlds stupidest roller coaster show completely forgetting the about the olive, which now sat on the floor in the bathroom, its red eye bright and all seeing.

Robert Vaughn Shines As The Witty And Sly Grandpa In Geva Theatre's Production Of You Can't Take It With You

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:56:00 -0400

Geva Theatre’s production of You Can’t Take It With You is charming and warm, funny and still relevant. You Can’t It With You, written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, directed by Mark Cuddy, will delight and entertain theatregoers and leave them asking themselves, ‘can we take it with us?’

The Vanderhof family, headed by grandpa, played by Robert Vaughn (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.), lives an eccentric life in NYC. All the family does is live to be happy, nearly every member of the family (and those who come to stay and never leave) are doing exactly what they want whenever the mood strikes.

Grandpa’s daughter Penny, played by Brigitt Markusfeld, a mother with two daughters of her own, is a ditzy, flighty woman who has been writing stories for eight years just because a typewriter was mistakenly delivered to their home. Her husband Paul Sycamore, played by Skip Grier, spends his days making fireworks (when he isn’t playing with his toy ship) in the basement with a man named Mr. De Pinna, played by Ray Salah, who came to the house, saw how the family lived, and never left. Essie, played by Melissa Rain Anderson, the youngest daughter, spends her days making chocolate candy and practicing her dance moves. She looks like an over grown Shirley Temple with the personality to match. Her husband Ed, played by Jim Poulos, was one of the many deliverymen that came to the house never to return to the outside world. Occasionally Ed plays a tune on his xylophone and Essie dances around the living room pirouetting and accenting each of her words with a graceful swing of her arms. The cast had such a seemingly natural chemistry; it was easy to believe that these people were family.

What was surprising was the sexual content of the play, written in 1936. Penny instigates a game that uses word association, using sex and lust as a way to see how people’s minds, the minds of a particular rich and uptight husband and wife, played by Robert Rutland and Peggy Cosgrave, work in association with select words. She is also writing a play about a woman who gets stuck in a monastery for days, insert a wink-wink sex joke here. Really pretty racy for the time it was written in the 1930’s and during America’s Great Depression. We were surprised by how risqué the material was, Ruby the maid, played by Nora Cole, having her boyfriend, played by Kim Sullivan, stay over night, Alice, played by Nicole Rodenburg, and her boyfriend Tony, played by Loren Dunn, kissing passionately in the living room, Grandpa telling Essie and Ed to go ahead and ‘make a baby’ and having them run off upstairs after given the go-ahead. We like to think they got away with it in the 30’s because they made people laugh, even if back then it might have made them blush.

Robert Vaughn shines as the witty and sly grandpa that everyone wants to be around, a man with an understated intelligence, wit, charm, and heart. And although the production features a big name Hollywood celebrity, the remainder of the cast is not to be underestimated and keeps pace with Vaughn seamlessly. Brigitt Markusfeld’s portrayal of Penelope Sycamore, Grandpa’s comedic right hand man, charmingly keeps even the most absurd situation believable in a carefree way. And Melissa Rain Anderson’s performance as Penny’s daughter, Essie, doesn’t seem to be a very demanding part, but perhaps it’s because she plays it so convincingly and her comedic timing is spot on every time. Essie will keep you chuckling to yourself as she floats in between every joke lost in her own absurd ballet and even inviting her polar opposite dance instructor, the haggard and roughly outspoken Russian, played by Dick St. George, over for weekly dance instructions that have been taken for the last eight years and are going nowhere. There are so many good characters and so much action taking place on stage, it’s fun and exciting to try and watch everything each actor is doing in their designated place on stage at the same time, imagine taking the concept of a juggling act and turning it into a family sitcom stage drama.

The theme of the play centers around the idea that you cant take money with you so why make yourself miserable by trying to make so much of it and never finding time to relax and be yourself. You witness a family that is happy in their own chaos of creativity and encouragement, picture the modern day dysfunctional family spouting words of encouragement instead of insults, ignoring the real world outside and the stress and pressure of having a job and paying taxes. When we thought about what was going on, whenever we weren’t laughing or ogling the amazing set, designed by Bill Clarke, we thought about the life this family was living and how it reminded us of our own crazy household, during the times when we aren’t at work and are home with our kids.

How many people actually strive to live like the Vanderhof/Sycamore’s? How many people would love to not worry about having a job but just be able to live as we would like, doing what we want day in and day out. Not working for the man, not paying taxes, just being happy. How soon would it be before the real world steps in?

For the sycamore household, reality steps in with Tony, Alice’s boyfriend. They become engaged even though Alice is worried that her eccentric family will never mesh with Tony’s uptight Wall Street Tycoon father and mother. We see that Alice is the most ‘normal’ of the Sycamore family. She has no strange need to play with children’s toys or dance around the house dressed in childish clothing. In contrast, Alice is a slightly boring character, who typically wishes her family was like everyone else’s and is embarrassed to bring her boyfriend to the house in fear of what her family will do to make him uncomfortable. Understandably, Alice and Tony’s love story is necessary as the catalyst of the play, they keep the juggling act moving forward and the tension ever changing, but the formulaic story line of the love birds is the weakest element in the scope of the comedic caper. The actor and actress playing the two lovers make them charming and realistic, and anyone who doesn’t mind a little Titanic style garnish, should be happy when they end up ‘happily every after’ too.

Geva Thetre’s production of You Can’t Take It With You is a great ensemble cast and definitely one of many to pass and many to come for Geva in their continuing celebration their 40^th anniversary. There’s still time if you wish to catch this performance, whether you live near Rochester NY or just plan on visiting, since dates extend til October 7^,2012. Tickets should be purchased in advanced online if you are planning on sitting in the front row and can be found at this link: http://www.gevatheatre.org/plays/youcanttakeitwithyou.php

Lisa with Steve

Blaqart Radio Retribution 2

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 22:34:00 -0400

A short episode from a different computer, this episode showcases:

Doomed To Obscurity - One More War
Christian Martucci - I Don’t Mind The Faith
The Shell Corporation - Looking For A War
The Snips - Times
Calabrese - Red Slash
Upbeat Allstars - You Win
Reel Big Fish - P.S. I Hate You
Stellar Corpses - Dead Stars Drive-In
Mondo Generator - This Isn’t Love
No Trigger - Checkmate

Email me with feedback or airplay submissions : blaqartradioretribution@yahoo.com

-Steven Blaqart-

Blaqart Radio Retribution Episode 1

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:21:53 -0400

The world’s greatest punk rock podcast back by popular demand, because you need to be introduced to new music that doesn’t suck. This episode features NEW music from Reel Big Fish, The Quakes, Anti-Flag, Blacklist Royals, Calabrese, Cancer Bats, Christian Martucci, FourYearStrong, I Am The Avalance, Imperial State Electric, Matt Skiba and The Sekrets, Matt Toka, MxPx, NOFX, Therapy?, Lions Lions, The Shell Corporation, Close Your Eyes, City Lights, The Dreadnoughts.
Email the show at blaqartradioretribution@yahoo.com
Hosted by Steven Blaqart

Geva Brings The Feva With a Double Dose of Diva

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:59:00 -0400

Do you remember when rock was young? Are you in a New York state of mind? Then Geva Theatre (celebrating their 40^th year anniversary) in Rochester, NY has a show for you! The Tribute to Sir Elton John and Billy Joel is in town until August 11^th. A great date night treat!

We decided to hit the dueling divas show out of sheer curiosity and Lisa’s love for the man in feathers. The Elton John impersonator, Joel Mason, comes from Vegas and the Billy Joel impersonator, David James, hails from the fair city of Rochester. Having never seen an impersonator before, why not go see two at once? We didn’t know what to expect, but with two larger than life personalities being portrayed on the Mainstage at Geva, we knew it wouldn’t disappoint.

The tribute production, based on an actual series of Face To Face shows done by the real Elton John with Billy Joel, was the brainchild of Joel Mason (Elton John), and David James (Billy Joel) after meeting each other on a cruise ship they were both working on.

While the performance was nowhere near as outlandish as we had imagined it to be in our heads, the Elton John costumes were out of this world. A rainbow feather costume, wacky sunglasses, tall platform shoes, a checkered suit, and a white feather boa vest that David James (Billy Joel) told Joel Mason (Elton John) made him look like an ostrich were just a couple of the easiest attire to describe. The fact that Joel Mason spent his hard earned cash on a number of reproduction Elton John costumes made the experience all the better.

The charm and humor of the onstage banter between songs was worth the price of admission. Joel Mason’s Elton John, as a matter of fact, did not have an English accent and was not gay. I felt as if Joel was saying, “let’s be serious, you’re not at an Elton John concert, but I look hilarious dressed like this, and if I put on these sunglasses while you all sing along, you just might allow your imagination to take you away.” Joel did an outstanding job of hamming it up for the crowd, lying on the floor with his right hand to his ear while his left hand still played a piano solo above his head.

Yes, the impersonators’ really play the piano during the performance and they are outstanding players. Joel also would heckle the audience a bit to engage them in audience participation, like when he started the song Rocket Man and only a few people cheered. Joel abruptly stopped the song and said in a comedic way, “you know, on the west coast people go wild with applause and cheer right when I start singing the first three words, maybe I picked the wrong song to play.” The audience gasped “no!” Which sent Joel into an impromptu rendition of Feelings that didn’t last long but set the crowd up to be ready to make some noise when he started Rocket Man over again. Lisa was giggling her face off, I noticed as I looked around the theatre the rest of the audience was eating it up, too. Mason’s brand of spandex drenched audience participation worked like a group hug after a family misunderstanding. Mason also brought his cutie pie four-month-old daughter on stage to join in the fun, threatening to change her soiled diaper on David James’ piano, keeping the crowd in awwwwww.

Lisa and I were sitting on the side, which David James (Billy Joel) performed. He would do three or four songs after Joel Mason (Elton John) played three or four songs. The mini sets gave the performers time for multiple costume changes. James is really an impressive pianist and when he flew into a rendition of Root Beer Rag we were blown away. He didn’t just confine his performance to the piano either, picking up a straight mic stand and singing all over the stage to It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me. James worked his way into the crowd having the audience sing along and sprinkling them with high fives, the Brooklyn Italian way. Having read that he had previously been a part of the Billy Joel musical Moving Out, he naturally had no problem playing any of the songs from The Stranger album.

The highlight of the show for us was when the two divas battled it out onstage, always trying to one up each other and steal the spotlight. During one spirited rendition of an Elton John song, James cockily takes off one shoe and uses it to play a perfect piano solo, prompting Mason to follow suit, which doesn’t work for him as well because he’s wearing sparkly platforms. Reaching the pinnacle of diva-dom, both the players had to have the last ‘note’ which leads to an off mike onstage squabble that has the voice of their manager thundering overhead, warning them to be supportive of one another or there would be dire consequences. I imaged Steve the manager withholding James’ ration of Italian sausage sandwiches and tearing some sequins off Mason’s platform shoes.

It was a fun, spirited performance and Mason and James’ admiration for John and Joel really warmed the crowd and had everyone rocking in their seats and singing along to favorite tunes. While I was hoping for a live band and outlandish rolling theatre style sets, the performers’ charm, talent, and dueling diva style made up for the lack of ‘extras’. We liked it best when the film projector, on which they were showing clips of Joel and John videos during certain songs, was turned off. We felt that with the projections off, it drew the audience in together in a more intimate way that made the performance feel real and free of distraction. Their performance had Lisa singing Elton/Joel songs all over the office on Friday. Definitely check out this show for a fun date night or an introduction for your kids to two legendary music men.

-Blaqart and Storm-

For show times and to buy tickets visit http://www.gevatheatre.org/plays/tribute.php

le-mo: The cover image to our latest completed movie, Gateways...

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:02:47 -0400

le-mo:

The cover image to our latest completed movie, Gateways to Magonia. Paranormal, Psychological, and just plain strange, taken from true events, this is free to watch and download on Vimeo. Inspired by the work of Jacques Vallee, John Keel, H.P. Lovecraft, and my own unusual experiences.

https://vimeo.com/channels/apmovies

How Do The Ghost Inside, For Today, and Memphis May Fire Tame Their Timebombs?

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 23:02:00 -0400

Your One Stop Junction For The Prevention Of Self-Destruction. This month’s episode feature’s guest appearances from Vigil of The Ghost Inside (Epitaph), Mattie Montgomery of For Today (Razor & Tie), and Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire (Rise) recorded from the 2012 Vans Warped Tour. Plus, new music from Gojira (Roadrunner), Miss May I (Rise), Cattle Decapitation (Metal Blade), God Forbid (Victory), Allegaeon (Metal Blade), As I Lay Dying (Metal Blade), Cancer Bats (Metal Blade), Every Time I Die (Epitaph), Skip The Foreplay (Epitaph), Dying Fetus (Relapse), Emmure (Victory), Stealing Axion (Inside Out Music). Warp Tour Coverage provided by MSOPR.

Contact or Submit Music : howtotameyourtimebomb@yahoo.com
SUBSCRIBE : itpc://howtotameyourtimebomb.podomatic.com/rss2.xml

I had originally announced audio content from Rise To Remain but it was corrupted

What That Voice Message is on the New Album From The Ghost Inside Plus Tales of Sacrifice

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 23:24:00 -0400

http://theghostinside.com/

If you’re like me, a fan of The Ghost Inside, and own a copy of Get What You Give, you’ve probably been dying to know if the voice message at the end of the song Face Value is real or not and what the story is behind it.

Well you’ve come to the right place for that answer my friend, because yesterday at The Vans Warped Tour I had the opportunity to ask the band themselves whether it was real or not.

JIM: Aaron used to play in a band called Marked For Death with a bunch of guys that are all older and have families and real jobs now, and one of the main riffs in that songs is derived from a riff of that band. The voicemail is from the singer of Marked For Death, who’s a truck driver now, and he just leaves us these random funny voicemails all the time and left us that voicemail. I think we were in Europe, and we were like, “is this a funny one or is this a real one?” So when we got home and Aaron finally called him he was like “Naw man, I was just fuckin’ with you, I thought it’d be funny, you know? Be like, oh I’m dying ckkkckhc.” I assured Jim that the crash in the voicemail sounded real, he agreed and replied with a chuckle “That was all him.”

I also used the opportunity to discuss a few other topics with the band, the first of which being the lyrical topic of sacrifice.

VIGIL: Over the years kids ask me what it takes to be in the kind of situation that we are with our band, and I always tell them it just takes having the drive and not wanting to give up. Because throughout the years from starting a band and getting to the point where you’re playing on a tour like Warped Tour, a lot of people tell you no, a lot of people shut you down, a lot of people don’t listen to you, other bands who aren’t as deserving get tours over you and it’s really discouraging. I think a lot of people at that point kind of give up. That’s the sacrifice you have to make, you have to be so willing to lose everything in your life to make this work that it comes full circle later on when it starts to pay off.

JIM: I’m not the original bass player, I’m actually good friends with Tyler who started the band with Vigil. Tyler is in college, never wanted to be on tour, never wanted to be missing out on time at home with his girlfriend and eventually it came to the point where he had to choose between real life or the band and he chose real life, which is cool for him. I was in a similar situation where I had issues like a career job or pursuing the dream of music. I got lucky; I chased the dream and so far am still living it. There definitely is a crossroads in everyone’s life, that’s in a band, where you have to decide - do I wanna continue to miss my family? Do I wanna miss graduations and birthdays and holidays in order to be out here on the road?

VIGIL: Yeah, and it’s not even so much a matter of just not being home for stuff. I think that almost any band who starts off touring; you’re not well known, half the time you show up to a show and you’re not even playing a show, it’s discouraging and you lose a lot of money, you sacrifice a lot. You have to give up your job, for me I couldn’t pay my car payments I had to lose my car, my girlfriend got fed up I lost my girlfriend, you hit a point where like in the song I do say you meet this crossroads and one way is to go back to a normal life and just try to rebuild, and the other way is to just keep on doing it because you believe in what you’re doing and, fortunately for us, it does take a lot of luck and a lot of favors from people to help you get the ball rolling, but if you’re just dedicated and believe in what you’re doing I think that’s the best advice we can give anybody.

Having been a fan of The Ghost Inside since Fury and The Fallen Ones, the members were willing to discuss with me the evolution of the band.

VIGIL: I think the progression of the band, is about evolving and putting your best foot forward. When we started this band, when we wrote the album Fury and The Fallen Ones we had no idea what kind of direction we wanted, we had no idea where we were going or anything like that, and then when it came time to write the next record we just tried to write a better version of the first one. So when it came time for this one, I think we all knew what we wanted to sound like, we knew what we wanted for The Ghost Inside, we knew the direction we wanted to go. So in the studio we were really clear minded, really on the attack of what we wanted and I think everyone stepped up their game as far as instrumentation, and I’ve done things on the record I’ve never thought I’d be able to do, and lyrically just tried to make the songs as sound as possible.

It’s just something that comes with time, you get five dudes together who don’t really know how to play their instruments and then over the years through touring and stuff you get a better feel of what you’re doing and the sound you want.

JIM: Yeah, the first songs you write, you want to always write as many cool parts as possible. A lot of the songs on the new record have a rock format with a verse and chorus etc. because those were the songs that off of Returners and Fury and The Fallen Ones have been the most successful with kids. The kids that like the band, they want a song they can connect to, not just once or twice, but three or four times through a chorus. So we went into this without the mindset of, ‘we have to write a million awesome parts’. We went into it with the mindset of ‘we need to write four or five amazing parts for each song and not overextend ourselves and try to outdo, out metal, or out riff ourselves’. If you’ve got a good riff stick with it, make it a chorus, go back to it, there’s no shame in that. There’s a reason that the pop format works so well for our band, it’s that kids connect with it the first time, remember it the first time, and wanna hear it over and over and over again.

I also got some audio commentary from The Ghost Inside that will air on my next episode of How To Tame Your Timebomb that you will be able to download free from iTunes. I had spent some time in the press tent at Warped Tour and was able to ask the bands For Today, Memphis May Fire, Rise To Remain, and The Ghost Inside what sort of stuff they do to relieve tension, anger, and excitement for the audio podcast that you can find by logging into the iTunes store and searching under podcasts for How To Tame Your Timebomb. The podcast will also be embedded on this blog in a future post, but you’ll have to stay tuned for that since I’m still wrapping up production of it.

The new album Get What You Give from The Ghost Inside is a high-octane hardcore album with a hard rock edge and lyrics that will have you forming an alliance with the band and singing along at the live show. Be sure to check ‘em out live at The Vans Warped Tour 2012 and pick up their new album for 5 dollars while you’re there.

-Blaqart-

Love Notes To Lisa Episode 9 : Ghost Hunters Make A Poo Poo Love

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 22:25:00 -0400

Love Notes To Lisa Episode 9 : Ghost Hunters Make A Poo Poo Love:

This episode features NEW music from Divided By Friday, Hawthorne Heights, Calabrese, Hostage Calm, The Quakes, Rise To Remain, Matt Skiba and The Sekrets, Therapy?, Hammer No More The Fingers, Boy Meets Machine, The Royalty, Wilco, and The Shins. There is also music from Jimmie Rodgers, Curtis Plum, Diablo Swing Orchestra, and some Apa State Mental and Rock City Angels to say farewell Bobby Durango R.I.P. There is also A diner review,the new Quakes album review, a poem about Michael Myers, a short story written by Lisa Storm and Steven Blaqart called Muxworthy At Play, and three separate parodies of the TV show Ghost Hunters.
www.muxworthyrevue.com
lovenotestolisa@yahoo.com

The Quakes Return With An Album That's Outta This World!

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:34:00 -0400

www.thequakes.com

The Quakes new album Planet Obscure picks right up where the last album ended. Although the album tends to stick to a more mid-tempo classic rockabilly feel, and there are none of the fast punky psychobilly type songs from the last album Negative Charge, the album still really rocks and what it lacks in speed it makes up for with cool.

Paul Roman is still sailing the seven seas alone, but this album tends to stay on shore where we find Paul doing a lot of walking alone. “I’m invisible as I walk through this town,” Paul sings in the first song Dark Shadows, “I’m so light on my feet I don’t make a sound”. Could Paul Roman be walking in my town and I don’t even know it? “I’m invisible every place that I go, I’m standing right there but ha- they don’t know”. At this point I really started to feel like I was being watched, I thought back to the picture on the back of the inlay of the cloned Paul Romans, god I hope it’s not the one with the black wig.

I forgot about all this when the next song Die Too Young started. “You were out every night until sunrise, coming home with your bloodshot eyes,” if Paul was in my town he’s certainly not watching me, I relaxed. But wait, “traipsing down the road you were hell on wheels,” I’m a self proclaimed traipser! Well he does mention wheels, and I do most of my traipsing down cul de sacs and dead end streets, pretending I’m a band leader in a great parade, I’m pretty sure he would have mentioned that. Why did I mention that?!

The next two songs got me feeling pretty sorry for myself. The song Promise sings of things like “I’m always on 10 I never know to say when…when it came to Sunday I said I’m starting on Monday… I made a promise to myself I wouldn’t do it anymore and then I did it again”. I started thinking about my New Year’s resolutions, and my divorces, my G.E.D., some of those things still affect me today.

And the next song It’s A Curse says thing like “Things you might have done, things you might have said, are coming back to haunt you and now they want you dead”. Paul is talking about himself in this song and the way he’s handled by the press and certain fanatics; perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned the Seven Seas. “No one loves a critic, but they all love the fakes,” I did really like the cloned Paul Roman in the leather hat, he’d be cool just kind of hanging around and backing you up whenever someone doesn’t believe your outlandish stories. “Lying through their teeth to be popular,” OK, I was exaggerating when I made my divorce plural because it sounded funnier, and we might as well throw in that whole traipsing thing too while we’re at it.

By this point I had started feeling bad and Paul chimed in with a little pick me up called Streets Are So Lonely “when you get the blues put on your walking shoes and walk away the pain”. Could Paul Roman be inviting me on a walk through dark shadows? I was off to change my shoes and by the time Streets ended I was walking down the road.

What the? The next song Don’t Follow Me started playing, “don’t follow me down that road less traveled it doesn’t lead to any place at all”, that’s OK buddy, I’m familiar with a lot of dead ends. “Don’t follow me … follow and you’ll be lost and never found”. What kind of demons are lurking in those dark shadows, and where the hell had I walked to?! “Please don’t follow me I travel alone,” Well he could have just said that in the first place.

The next song This Night is really cool, it’s rockin’ but at the same time it’s kind of laid back and atmospheric during the verses and Paul doesn’t use keyboards, it’s all atmosphere with guitar. And the song Wildcat definitely brings a whole new style and flair to a familiar progression, putting claws on the cat with threatening laid-back attitude.

All joking aside, the song You’re A Joke confused me. I had listened to the song about 5 times thinking Paul was just talking shit about various people when suddenly it dawned on me that Paul Roman starts out talking shit about himself in the first verse. Really? Why? “Look at you you’re 45 still trying keep your dream alive, you’ve got the hair you’ve got the look from 1984. All your friends have settled down and you’re still rocking town to town, I know you must have heard this one before. You’re a joke.” Well I know The Quakes were formed in the eighties, and Paul’s the only original member still in the band. I remember when I saw The Quakes live I couldn’t guess his age, he was older than me but acted younger on stage, 45 suddenly seems like the right age. Maybe Paul is trying to create a familiar tie between himself, the young hipster kid in verse two, and the wanna-be pin-up girl in verse three? Let’s read verse two, “look at you you’re 22 and you look kinda weird. Tattooed neck and stretched out ears and now you got a beard. You laughed at me in verse one and now’s my chance to have some fun. So just relax and go drink your cheap beer. You’re a joke”. I literally sat in silence for more than twenty minutes thinking before I realized that the first verse was written from the perspective of the young guy in verse two!

This a very complex song in my opinion, did some 22 year old hipster dude talk trash about Paul Roman in real life? I wouldn’t be surprised, there are so many nasty people in this world these days and people aren’t afraid to say whatever comes to their face about whatever it is they dispense as their almighty opinion. This very common breed of person is never happy with anything and typically lives in misery, cutting down everything and everyone that he deems lame. The entire etiquette of respect and tact lost on a generation of young men and women raised in all too trendy dysfunctional families.

Of course the dysfunctional family really only picked up trendy in the late eighties/early nineties around the time when The Simpson and Married With Children made the FOX TV network a household name. Finally, we can laugh at domestic abuse, and I don’t mean physical, parents weren’t allowed to spank kids anymore and no one had a clue how to discipline otherwise. Children grew up to be spoiled brats who were never disciplined, by aggravated parents who just insulted and screamed at each other. This environment has a normalizing effect on people like this who never knew life a better way. The damaged children of these aggravated parents that I had mentioned earlier were then given television shows on MTV.

And then came Myspace, Twitter, and Facebook, or any social web forum in general. These social networks have a drunk asshole outside a bar effect on people of this particular breed. Even when they are bone sober, they have a tendency to just type whatever obnoxious thing pops into their brain, from wherever they happen to be thinking it at any time of the day. The end result is a generation of people who talk freely to people in person with the same lack of good taste that they use on the internet, that’s why blockbuster teen comedies are so over the top. It is as if man is evolving back into the caveman.

As a performer/artist, I know that it only takes one bad review to temporarily wound your spirit or one good one to make your spirit soar. It’s the nature of the profession, and when you’re born with a talent, like Paul Roman has been for writing and performing rockabilly, you can never truly quit doing it. It comes so natural, that it’s not about what other people think, it’s a movement that just happens and a product that is created and offered to all those wanting to share another chapter in an artist’s life. Anyone who feels like they are uninterested should really just go home and be interested in something different.

I’m sure I’m really just over-analyzing the lyrics to this song. Who’s the girl he’s singing about in the third verse? It’s more likely a song about clashing trends, each trend having it’s own look and thinking they are superior to the next one. We all want to be the leader of our own group, and no matter how non-conformist we try to be, the end result typically ends up being something that can be filed under a larger all encompassing and already established genre.

Unless, of course, you are like the girl in the next song Anti-Social Girl, a person who can see a trend for what it is from a mile away and refuse to become a part of it in an act of her own non-conformity. A person who is a little bit of everyone and everything, while at the same time not being a member of any of them. Yes it’s true, in a world where people blab every tiny aspect of their lives, there still remains a few who value privacy and a small circle of friends. Oh but what that mystery does to the rest of us….

Luckily the next song was an instrumental and I was able to give my overactive mind a rest. A cover song that I had never heard of called Festa do e puxa, written by Waldemar Marques Da Silva and Washington Marques Da Silva. This is one of the most rocking songs on the album with a lead melody that you will be whistling for days after hearing it. The percussion is great and so are the “heys” and the layering of the guitars keeps you listen to different areas of the mix.

The only problem with the cover song, for me, was that it feels like it should be the last song, so when the last song All About You starts playing it feels like an extra track. All About You is by far the most interesting of tracks for the reason that, in my opinion, it sounds more like a song by The Police than a rockabilly song. The song sounds like it uses an electric bass as opposed to the slap bass used on all the other songs. This a very atmospheric song with poignant lyrics that tell of lost love and regret, “all of this time, I thought I knew, and all of this time it was all about you.” The next lyric in the song is by far my favorite on the album, “and now I feel no pain like she wanted me to.”

And the final track on the album March of the Cloned Paul Romans is a funny little keyboard instrumental that claims to be played by the actual cloned Paul Romans! Creepy, but not surprising, when the wicked witch of the west created flying monkeys they came up with a pretty similar song.

All in all I love the new album from The Quakes - Planet Obscure, it had me singing along from first play and I would recommend that you log onto www.thequakes.com and buy yourself a copy. The release is one hundred percent independent and a great addition to your obscure music collection.

-Blaqart-

My Second Podcast : How To Tame Your Timebomb

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 20:30:00 -0400

My Second Podcast : How To Tame Your Timebomb :

I get more metal sent to me than anything else therefore… also to come Blaqart Radio Retribution.. but until then: Your one-stop junction for the prevention of self-destruction. Limited talk, commercial free, high octane metal from The Agonist, Whitechapel, Rise To Remain, Blessthefall, Spineshank, Dr Acula, Sirens & Sailors, Architects (UK), and Restless Streets. Brought to you by Steven Blaqart with Lance Ricci

That Way You Felt Before You Were Born : Connie's Diner's Got The Fifties Covered... And Smothered In Gravy

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 23:12:00 -0400

Connie’s Diner Website

Connie’s Diner is a cool little fifties diner in Waterloo, NY, right on route five and twenty. We found it on accident on our way to Auburn one day. It looked way too cool not to go back and check it out one day. And check it out, we did.

It looked a bit small when we first drove by it, but when we stepped inside, we found a whole bunch of booths on every wall and stools along the bar. It was a Thursday night and this place was packed. Looking at the specials on the white board, we figured this would be a standard priced restaurant, but when we saw the menu, we realized this diner served meals much cheaper than any other restaurant we might have ended up at. The Professor ordered a ‘trash’ plate and I had to try the spaghetti and meatballs, as I always do.

The first thing to hit our table was a small dish of coleslaw. It was absolutely delicious, sweet and creamy, I don’t think the Professor or I have ever had a more delish, of all things, coleslaw. The fried broccoli was next to arrive. Neither of us had ever had this before. We were a bit leery at first. After one bite we couldn’t seem to stop dipping the fricking things in the ranch side. Addicting. I guess you really can fry anything. And what can I say about the mac salad? Awesomeness on a plate. And no yucky huge crunchy onions either.

The Professor would advise to pass on the trash plate hot sauce unless you are a fan of canned hash without the potatoes. And unless you have an iron lined stomach, be sure to order the burgers well done. The spags and balls were not as good as mine (of course) but to be honest, the sauce wasn’t bad and I ate the entire plate (with help from the Professor). The portions left us absolutely stuffed and we couldn’t partake of the amazing looking pies and cakes. Definitely, more than enough food for the price.

The best thing about Connie’s Diner is the atmosphere. The minute you walk up the sidewalk, you know you’re in for something retro. Pictures of old advertisements and pics of old time celebrities line the walls. The tables have personal jukeboxes. I haven’t seen those in years. A quarter a song but we didn’t test them out to see if they worked. There was also the ‘classic’ no nonsense waitress, tiny and weathered, who served up the food with a brash kind of hospitality that kept you secretly wishing she would call you ‘sugar’.

The only thing missing from Connie’s Diner that I can think of is a man named Al behind the counter wearing a paper hat serving root beers and malt drinks for ten cents a piece.

Next time we head to Connie’s we may skip the dinner and just head straight for the dessert. Highly recommended for a fun night out. An antique lover’s dream restaurant.

Connie’s Diner is also five minutes away from historic Seneca Falls, NY, the home of The Women’s Rights movement. A nice little town to walk off some of those fried broccoli carbs afterward.

-Lisa Storm with Steven Blaqart-

Ian Weir Interview on Writing : Author of Daniel O' Thunder

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:01:00 -0400

Ian Weir is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright and novelist. His TV credits include the acclaimed crime thriller Dragon Boys, Flashpoint, Cold Squad and Beachcombers. He has won two Geminis, four Leos, a Jessie and the Writers Guild of Canada Canadian Screenwriting Award. Interview conducted by Steven Blaqart. External links provided by clicking on pictures of Ian Weir or his book.

Daniel O’ Thunder was clearly inspired by a few popular bible tales, was this idea driven by your own faith, or are you perhaps actually not religious and just drew inspiration from the stories and ran with it? What attracted you to write about this particular subject matter?

That’s a great question, I don’t have a conventional religious faith, although I was raised in a church going family and I’ve always been fascinated by the bible as literature, I’ve always been fascinated by the Jesus narrative, and for a few years I spent some time dipping my toes, in an amateur way, into the waters of biblical scholarship. So I’ve always had a fascination with the bible stories. At different times of my life I suppose I’d had a more conventional faith, at the moment, of not so much. But those are stories I suppose I have felt steeped in since a very early age.

Did the sequence, in which the events of the novel unfold, change at all from rough draft to final draft?

The order of events, not so much. Basically the broad narrative super-structure of the first draft remained more or less the broad narrative super-structure of the finished version. There were some major changes all throughout. Like for instance, it wasn’t until I was about two thirds of the way through the first draft that it occurred to me that the primary narrator is a pathological liar, I hadn’t known that about him. So that obviously changed my perspective on the story he was telling in a very thorough going way. I ended up going back, once I’d finished the first draft, and reworking Jack’s story line through the novel, but in terms of what actually happened that didn’t change a great deal.

The thing that I really admire about your book is that every character is just really different from each other to the point that your opinion is just constantly changing about everyone from everyone else’s perspective. So that’s what made me wonder if you had written it out of sequence or if you had actually wrote it in the order that the reader reads it where one chapter it’s Jack and the next chapter is Nell and so on…

Number one, thank you very much, I really appreciate you saying that. It was written in sequence, I didn’t write all the way through in one voice and then go to the next voice, it was weaving back and forth.

It’s interesting, one thing that you’re really forced to learn as a stage playwright, you’re forced to learn to think the way an actor thinks, because there you are, in a rehearsal hall with actors, and if you’re outside the head of the characters, all of a sudden the actor has a scene that they can’t play, they need to be able to root themselves in the characters. In order to write that character, you need to root yourself as a writer in each of the characters in the play.

So it’s extraordinarily good training for a writer in form, learning to think like an actor, and that’s what I was trying to bring to the writing of Daniel O’ Thunder, basically to approach the writing of those characters as if I were an actor playing in those roles

Were there any interesting ideas or written scenes that didn’t make the final cut?

Yeah… Well, I don’t know how interesting they were or how well written. There were certainly some scenes I had fallen in love with which didn’t make the final cut. For me that’s always part of the process, I habitually overwrite. So I would say probably from the first draft until the final draft I probably cut twenty percent of the material, which, for me, is pretty much par for the course in any form that I’m writing in. Some of that was just thinning down the verbiage, some of it was pulling out scenes, which at the time, seemed like a good idea but had become extraneous by the time the narrative was finished.

Did the story just kind of flow into place? Or did you do any brainstorming/outline of story? How did you collect your ideas?

This was a story that had been living with me for a really long time, in it’s embryonic form, I had been jotting notes on that idea all the way back in grad school in the early nineteen eighties. And it certainly changed in very significant ways throughout the years, originally it had nothing to do with a prizefighter and it certainly wasn’t set in the nineteenth century when I began, it was a contemporary story. The themes, I think, had been there for a long time. I didn’t work from a detailed outline, in certain forms of writing I do.

When I’m writing for screen I work from a detailed outline because screenwriting is so intensely structural for various reasons, you need to work from a very detailed outline. With a novel I wrote it the same way I approached the writing of stage plays, I usually have a general sense of where I think I’d like to end up. It’s never a specific scene, it’s often a kind of an emotional tonality or color that I’m heading for, and I’ve always got four or five way-stations along the path that I think I’m gonna visit. In the course of writing the narrative I invariably discover that those actually aren’t the way-stations but at the time they seem to me like coat hangers that I can aspire to hang something on, which is a long way around to saying no I don’t work from a detailed outline except for when I write for screen.

You have a large list of referenced books that helped you shaped your story. Did you use these books more to put the finishing touches on the final draft or did you reference them throughout the creative process to help you write scenes?

It was throughout; some of those are books that I’d been reading over the course of years while I was doing sort of a general meandering research. In the process of writing the novel itself, while working on the first draft, what I basically tried to do, I write during the mornings, so, put in four or five hours writing daily in the mornings and then in the afternoons spend time reading and I spent a lot of time reading novels written in the nineteenth century just for a general cultural ambience but also doing specific research as I was going along. At times doing research based on scenes I was writing at the time, and at times when trying to stay ahead and sort of projecting where I was going and doing research that would be sort of waiting for me when I got there.

That’s a great question, every writer is different, I find I can’t write anything unless I feel that I’m standing on solid ground, and I hasten to say that it doesn’t necessarily mean the ground beneath my feet has to be solid, I just need to convince myself that I am standing on solid ground. So I need to have a sense of the physical world that’s around me, I need to have a sense of the sort of socio-economic cultural context of the world that’s around me and until I feel somewhat confident that I know what the street looks like and what my characters had for breakfast this morning and where he’s going at the end of the day, until I have some sense of that I find myself totally blocked. So I know some writers just invent from whole cloth and then revise as they go along, but I need to start with some sense of completion.

Did you have a daily word count goal that you strove to achieve while writing the novel? Was the first draft forced at all?

Anthony Trollope, the nineteenth century novelist, had a lovely description of himself as a cobbler of books, he worked at a post office and he basically got up at the crack of dawn and wrote for about three hours before dawn before going to work at the post office everyday of life. I tend to be along those lines as a writer, I try to write seven days a week.

Certainly working on Daniel O’ Thunder, in the first half of the first draft, basically I was aiming for five hundred words a day seven days a week. Around a halfway mark I started speeding up, I was getting up towards eight hundred to a thousand words a day and in the home stretch I could sometimes get up to fifteen hundred to two thousand words. I find the same thing always happens to me no matter what form I’m writing in, it starts fairly slowly and about halfway through I start picking up steam. But for me the key is to always write seven days a week.

Did you suffer from any sort of writer’s block while writing the novel?

I don’t think I’ve ever suffered from what I describe as writer’s block, again I think that may have to do with some of the discipline learned in television writing where there simply is no choice, you’ve gotta generate something. And so usually I can find ways to get something going and I often find that as long as I can get anything going at all, after a couple of hours I can start making something up. So fortunately I didn’t have many days where I felt I couldn’t get a word done.

Of all the mediums you have written for, novel, TV, radio, play, which one is your favorite, which one has been most rewarding? What are the key differences?

At the moment I have never found anything as creatively rewarding as the novel, and in fact I’m halfway through a second novel now.

I started out writing radio drama and then spent some number of years as a stage playwright, and still love writing for stage, and fell sideways into writing for television along the way, which is not something I ever really set out to do. But I spent, I guess, the better part of two decades in focusing fairly extensively on writing for television because there were opportunities there and, to be perfectly crass about it, television writers are ridiculously overpaid and everybody else in the writing world is ridiculously underpaid. So there’s an economic encouragement for doing some television if the opportunity presents, and I certainly enjoy very much the work I’ve done on television.

I love writing for stage, I continue to do that, my favorite experience dramatically is going to a theatre as an audience member. But as far as pure creative satisfaction, nothing touches the novel. I never try to claim that one form is more difficult than another because I just think that’s terribly subjective.

I would say the single largest mountain to climb is the novel mountain, partially because of the sheer size of the novel and also because there is nothing else that’s anywhere near as long and as complex, narratively speaking, as the novel is. So there is great satisfaction, creatively, in taking that on. As a novelist, of course, you are also flying totally solo, obviously you are working with an editor in the rewrites and I was fortunate to work with an extremely good editor, but the novel is all down to the novelist.

And one thing that working on Daniel O’ Thunder brought home to me is the extent, to which, in any form of drama you really are working as part of a creative team, you have all kinds of resources to draw on that are supplied by others, you have actors that you can draw on. As a screenwriter one gets so used to a situation in which someone comes and asks, you know, what does the room look like? Your reply is don’t talk to me that’s set dec. You know, what is the character wearing? I don’t know, go talk to wardrobe. Where as a novelist you are responsible for all of those decisions yourself, which is certainly invigorating and freeing, but I do confess it was daunting as the realization set in that there really was nowhere else to turn.

In terms of the difference between writing the novel and any kind of dramatic form, certainly the absence of collaboration is a huge difference in writing the novel. And you know, another difference I found really striking, and it’s gonna sound silly in a way, in the rewrite process it was something that was a real eye-opener, any dramatic form what you’re writing is never finished.

In a stage process you’re rewriting all the way through rehearsals and when the show is up and running you can still be doing work on the text of the play. Certainly writing for screen there is no such thing as finishing a screenplay because it is gonna be revised all the way through production and it’s gonna be revised all over again during post. I mean, during the editing process, to a very real extent, you can rewrite a script as you’re going along.

It was really quite something to realize, at a certain point with a novel, you press send, you mail it off, and that is the final version of the novel, it goes out into the world with all it’s imperfections on it’s head, there’s no way of making any changes.

Do you prefer to write in silence or do you listen to music?

I write in silence. I know a lot of writers who swear by listening to music, I need silence. Sometimes if I’m in a place that’s noisy I put on headphones but I don’t actually have music coming through them, I muffle the sound. I find actually, I can write fairly effectively in coffee shops as long as there’s a good deal of noise all around. If I can hear just one conversation then that spoils it, but if there’s a lot of noise all around, it sort of phases as white noise and I find that quite conducive to concentration as well.

You listed Dickens as a favorite author, could you name any others?

If I had to pick one writer above all, as a novelist, it would be Dickens. I wouldn’t make the argument, necessarily, he’s the greatest novelist of all time, but he’s my favorite novelist of all time.

Apart from Dickens, I read sort of all over the map. At the moment I’m alternating between a totally wonderful novel by Peter Matthiessen, who is an American writer, Bone By Bone, which is the third novel in a trilogy based on an actual shadowy outlaw figure from the Florida Everglades in the early 20th Century called E. J. Watson. It’s just wonderful sprawling epic about violence and corruption at the heart of the American dream in the early twentieth century.

I’m going back and forth between reading that and The Cavalier In The Yellow Doublet which is one of the Captain Alatriste adventures by Arturo Perez-Reverte who’s a perfect Spanish writer, a kind of spiritual descendent of Alexandre Dumas and that style of writing.

As far as writing reaching to nineteenth century I love Fielding, Thackery, Trollope.

Contemporary writers, I adore Barry Unsworth the British novelist. Michael Chabon, the American writer I think is an absolute genius. Marilynne Robinson, American novelist, I think is an absolute genius. I’m sort of all over the map. And I also enjoy reading Robert B Parker westerns you name it.

There’s a technique that you use where you reveal details of a character later that completely changes your outlook on how that character is portrayed, like maybe their age or what they look like, sometimes you’ll introduce a character and then you’ll describe them later which kind of changes my whole perception of this person in my head and I guess that’s really why I enjoy books more than I do movies because it seems like the only place where you can really pull off that sort of magic.

Oh, I’m really glad to hear you say because that’s something which is so freeing of the form of the novel, since the text really is taking place inside the reader’s head, the writer has control over the way information is divulged to a much greater extent than any other medium. There’s a wonderful novel by William Trevor called Death In Summer in which we make a discovery about one of the core characters about three quarters of the way through that changes the entire novel. It’s profound, and human, and wonderful, and I love that technique.

Do you plan on writing any more novels?

Yeah, the novel I’m working on now is a mystery and a Gothic thriller and I’m having a great deal of fun in similar kinds of ways. I’m delivering a first draft this fall, it’ll be published in Canada in the fall of 2013, and normally that would mean out in the states a few months after that, probably the spring of 2014 would be the U.S. launch. The book is called The Resurrection Man.

What advice would you give to new writers?

I would say above all else, read a great deal, closely followed by write a great deal and keep writing. When I first started out as a writer, working on radio plays, I went through reams and reams and reams of material before I finally came up with something that was halfway workable. I certainly had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pages to get out of my system while I was finding my voice and trying to find who I was as a writer, and I think that’s the way for a lot of writers. I think an awful lot of really talented writers lose heart and get frustrated and stop writing because it’s a long process. It sounds like a cliché, but for those wanting to write, trust in yourself, believe in yourself, give yourself the time, and it may be years, that it takes to explore your voice and find out who you are as a writer.

And the second thing I would say, running in tandem with that, one of the things that frustrates the heck out of writers, at all levels, particularly for emerging writers, there’s a fear that you have to write a final draft first off, that unless you’ve written something which competes with your favorite novelist on the book shelf, that somehow it’s no good. And guaranteed, that’s the sixth, or the eighth, or the ninth draft of the book that’s on the bookshelf. A writer needs to give him or herself permission to write a first draft, which is riddled with problems. The first draft, which may feel as if it’s nowhere at all, but over the course of revision, gradually, it shapes itself.

Daniel O’ Thunder for me, didn’t go through a massive number of drafts, it was five drafts. Whereas with plays, I’ve been as high as twenty drafts on a stage play. And certainly around draft twelve there’s a tendency to think perhaps this is just a dead horse and I should give up flogging the poor thing, but gradually you keep moving forward.

For more interview with Ian Weir in audio form listen to the latest edition of the podcast Love Notes To Lisa posted here