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Thursday, July 31, 2008

On The Next Vinyl Monday...

A little something from my personal collection, an album my parents bought me when I was six years old...because my parents are extremely cool:
Kiss were my first concert. The Destroyer Tour, around the end of July '76 somewhere down south (either Florida or Alabama, I don't remember that well...I'm pretty sure it was at a baseball field). I was on vacation with my grandparents, who wanted to take me because they thought it was a circus show, and my parents told them to go ahead because I loved Kiss.

We left early, as you might imagine, and my grandparents never took me to a concert again. Heh.

Side One (of 4) on this live masterpiece demands that you put the stripes back on and re-enlist in The Kiss Army, this Monday morning at 9am.

Deuce
Strutter
Got To Choose
Hotter Than Hell
Firehouse

Your Government At Work

(with thanks to my friend Terry Likness for sending it to me)

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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

WAOR/Meijer Wednesday Weather Kid!

Talk about adorable!
Congrats to Brittany Busko from South Bend!
Hear her do the weather all day today on WAOR, and catch our interview with her on the usPod on the right-hand side of this website - - - >

The Return of Cooking For Guys Who Can't Cook!

Chef Pat is back...and not messin' around: he went stright for the spare ribs for his first visit back for Cooking For Guys Who Can't Cook. Hear him break it all down on the usPod - - - >
BBQ Spare Ribs
1 bottle Chicago Steak House Marinade (by A1)
10 oz bottle of Heinz Ketchup
2 Cups dark brown sugar
Use 1/4 bottle of the special A1 and marinade ribs overnite. Mix the rest of the ingredients to make the sauce. Cook ribs over coals on low heat for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Dip them in the sauce again when you flip 'em. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, thin it with water.
Chablis Perch
6 Ocean Perch fillets
1 cup Andy's Fish Breading
4 oz Chablis wine
4 tbsp butter
6-8 sprigs of fresh parsley
1/4 cup oil
2 egg whites
2 tbsp water
Make an egg wash: egg whites and water. Dip the fish in the egg wash, then dip them into a plate of the breading. Put fish flesh-down (to keep it from curling up) in a pan with hot oil. Cook 4-5 minutes. Place fish to side when done and drain the oil from pan. Don't totally clean the pan: pour in the wine, deglaze pan, cook 1 minute with the butter and parsley.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Tuesday Rock Roundup

Geddy Lee of Rush (the greatest band alive) is 55 today. And lo, he is mighty.

On this day in 1973, Led Zeppelin's safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel in New York was robbed of 180-thousand dollars. It was one of the largest cash thefts ever in New York City.

AC/DC will hit the road for 18 months starting in October. The world tour will be in support of their new album, due in October and reportedly titled Black Ice. The album and tour will be the band's first since Stiff Upper Lip was released in 2000. Other groups announcing tours yesterday included Eric Clapton, KISS, Journey, and Green Day.

For the past eight years Blondie drummer Clem Burke has been part of an experiment conducted by scientists at the University of Gloucestershire and the University of Chichester in England. They have been monitoring his heart rate, oxygen levels and other statistics during his performances. They discovered that his heart averaged 140 to 150 beats per minute and peaked as high as 190, which is comparable to athletes. However, athletes might reach that level only once or twice a week, while a drummer on tour is likely to do it almost every night. One of the goals of the study was to develop programs for overweight children not interested in athletics to stay fit. A few years ago, National Geographic conducted a number of tests on Steven Tyler to demonstrate the power of human speech for a documentary.

Add motorcycle maker to Billy Joel's resume. The piano man and boat manufacturer has formed 20th Century Cycles to pay homage to the heritage and legacy of motorcycling by building one-of-a-kind "non-production" bikes "for the discerning buyer." Joel caught the bug in 2005 when he asked Lighthouse Harley-Davidson of Long Island to give his Harley-Davidson Sportster a retro look. It came out so well that he did the same thing to his Harley-Davidson Springer Classic, which inspired him and Lighthouse to form 20th Century Cycles.

Curious how Motley Crue are sounding these days? Their set Friday night in Las Vegas will be webcast at DeepRockDrive-dot-com.

NEW IN STORES TODAY:

U2 Deluxe Edition Box Set [Amazon.com Exclusive] CD by U2 which includes the remastered and expanded versions of the band's first three albums.
Along Came A Spider CD by Alice Cooper also out on LP record
Venus in Overdrive CD by Rick Springfield
It's Bad for Ya CD by George Carlin
Shine a Light DVD Rolling Stones
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit - The Seventh Year DVD
Beverly Hills, 90210 - The Fifth Season DVD
The Hills - The Complete Third Season DVD
War Games (25th Anniversary Edition) DVD
Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay DVD
And all of the Jack Ryan movies...including the crappy one with Ben Affleck...are out on Blu-Ray

Monday, July 28, 2008

Vinyl Monday

Clapton, Bruce, & Baker. The Cream that rose to the top, thanks in no small part to their sophomore release: 1967's Disraeli Gears. Side One is up to bat today on Vinyl Monday!
Strange Brew
Sunshine Of Your Love
World Of Pain
Dance The Night Away
Blue Condition

Friday, July 25, 2008

Shot(s) Of The Week

The Naked Pear

Smirnoff Green Apple Twist
Midori
Triple Sec
Pineapple Juice
Sweet & Sour

Butterfinger

Butterscotch Schnapps
Bailey's Irish Cream
Milk

Kids LOVE The Prowler

Elkhart County 4H Fair:

Phriday Photo Phinish: Interesting People Edition

My daughter at the Elkhart Fair broadcast yesterday...

...my buddy Joey is the head honcho at a radio station on American Samoa. They're in the midst of a great Pacific Islands cultural festival. These are dancers from Papua New Guinea that he said were really interesting...

...meanwhile, in Niles, during the 95 Days Of Summer broadcast at Martin's...um...yeah...
...our 95 Days winner this week, Jason Gilson of Niles...

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Heatherless Headlines

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Relay For Life At Niles HS This Weekend


It's underway at Niles High School Saturday at Noon, and runs until 8am Sunday. Get out there and support the walkers, or join the relay. Tons of entertainment will be going on during the event, as well.
For more info or to make a donation...like the big fat one we had on the air this morning from the Round Barn Winery...call Dawn at 269-470-4709.

Estelle Getty Dead at 84

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Breakfast With Batman pics

Click the picture to see more.

Tuesday Rock Roundup

Our condolences go out to Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, whose mother Sue Tallarico died last week.

Don Henley turns 61 today, and his Eagles bandmate Joe Walsh is getting ready to work on a new solo album.

Mick Fleetwood's six-year-old daughter Ruby is in critical but stable condition at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles after a swimming accident on Friday. Fleetwood's wife Lynn says Ruby is an extremely strong swimmer, but while doing somersaults in the pool she became disoriented and she must have swallowed a large amount of water. She lost consciousness in the pool, but was revived by C-P-R before being rushed to the hospital.


Alice Cooper's new album, Along Came a Spider, is streaming on his MySpace page.

As we mentioned yesterday, Jimi Hendrix will do what Aerosmith did, and appear in Guitar Hero. Experience Hendrix has approved a deal for Hendrix's likeness to be used in a game for the first time. Guitar Hero World Tour will include "The Wind Cries Mary" and a live version of "Purple Haze" recorded in 1969 at the San Diego Sports Arena. The game is due out October 27th. Other Hendrix songs will be released as downloads for the game in the future.


Rush has released an alternate version of "Working Man" from the group's 1974 self-titled debut album. Available starting today on I-Tunes, this version features a new guitar solo from Alex Lifeson. The band is also helping actor Brad Pitt build 150 new homes in New Orleans as part of the Katrina recovery effort. For more information on how you can help "The House That Rush Built," log onto Rush-dot-com and go to the News section. Rush is down to the last two shows on the Snakes and Arrows tour: tonight in Alpharetta, Georgia and Thursday in Noblesville, Indiana.

In the mood for more Crosby, Stills, & Nash? The soundtrack to the CSN and Y documentary Deja Vu is in stores today. The film chronicles C-S-N-Y's 2006 Freedom of Speech Tour in support of Neil Young's Living With War album.

U-2 are re-issuing their first three albums today. Boy, October and War are all available in three formats...vinyl; a single compact disc with re-mastered audio and restored packaging, including a 16-page booklet with previously unseen photos, lyrics and new liner notes; and a deluxe package with a bonus C-D that contains B-sides, live tracks, rarities and a 32-page booklet with notes about the bonus material written by The Edge, who oversaw the re-mastering.

NEW RELEASES TODAY:

CSNY/Deja Vu Live CD by Crosby Stills Nash & Young
Live in Santa Monica '72 CD by David Bowie
The Rules of Hell CD Box Set by Black Sabbath
And remastered versions of the first three U2 albums
21 DVD
Las Vegas: Season Five DVD
L.A. Ink: Season 1 DVD

Monday, July 21, 2008

Spotted Before The Dark Knight Movie...

can't wait can't wait can't wait...

Vinyl Monday: 16 Million people can't be wrong...

Is it 6 o'clock yet? One of the greats this week:
Side One of The Eagles' Hotel California, the first album they did with Joe Walsh.
Hotel California
New Kid In Town
Life In The Fast Lane
Wasted Time

Friday, July 18, 2008

Phriday Photo Phinish




Heatherless Headlines

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Beaker Rocks

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Party On The Plaza Pics

Get 'em while they're still all soft and melty at my flickr page.
Don't burn your fingers.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Jon Pontius Live In Our Studio


Jon Pontius

Jon Pontius from Dowagiac, our Best Riff winner with Guitar Center, kicked our asses in the studio this morning. He'll be playing our Party On The Plaza with Jake The Rock Kid tonight, another reason for you to go even if you didn't get tickets for CSN.

Hear the interview and the audio on the usPod on the right hand side of the website.

Here's his YouTube version of "Eruption", which got him the win:

Rush on The Colbert Report Tonight!

NEW YORK (AP) -- Rush will be appearing on "The Colbert Report," and it's not Limbaugh.

The Canadian band Rush, which hasn't performed on U.S. television in more than three decades, will play their classic "Tom Sawyer" on the Comedy Central show Wednesday (11:30 p.m. EST). The Geddy Lee-led trio, which is currently on tour, hasn't played on U.S. television since 1975.

Rush is only the latest act to perform on "The Report," which has steadily edged closer to "Ed Sullivan Show" territory. With increasingly frequent musical performances, "The Report" has grown a variety-show impulse, evident in other upcoming bookings.

The rapper Nas will perform on July 23, Toby Keith will return for a second performance on July 28 and Crosby, Stills and Nash will play on July 30.

The Stephen Colbert-hosted comedy show was originally launched as a parody of conservative political punditry — and shows like "The O'Reilly Factor" do not make a habit of hosting music performances.

But "The Report" circus has expanded into musical realms, often with its sonorous host joining in. John Legend, Neil Young, R.E.M., Tony Bennett, Peter Frampton, Willie Nelson, Barry Manilow, John Mellencamp, the Roots and Carole King have all performed on the show.

Colbert's enthusiasm for the music has been easily apparent. He's sung the Star Spangled Banner (in two-part harmony) with Legend, and mocked the MTV-style band interview by questioning R.E.M. from a stool twice the size of those the band sat on.

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CSN Tonight!

Crosby, Stills, & Nash are putting on their long-awaited and long-sold-out show at The Morris tonight! Even if you don't have tickets, stop on out and join us for the Party On The Plaza before the show. We'll broadcast live from 4 to 8 to warm things up!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Tuesday Rock Roundup

AC/DC confirmed yesterday that their long awaited new album will be called Black Ice, with a release date of October 28th. The first single, "Runaway Train"...which was almost the album's title...will be out in late August. AC/DC will also hit the road in November, and are expected to give details soon for their inclusion in the next version of the Rock Band video game.

Over the weekend, The Who and a handful of special guests taped a VH1 Honors special at UCLA. The show premieres Thursday at 9, and features Pearl Jam, the Foo Fighters, and other artists...including Jack Black's project Tenacious D. The D perform Squeeze Box. The Who also played a 10-song set that lasted just under an hour. David Duchovny, Rainn Wilson, Margaret Cho, Sean Penn and Adam Sandler introduced the bands, Sandler doing so musically. Should be worth a watch.

Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Kenney Jones were getting together on July 3rd to discuss the possibility of a Faces reunion. Apparently the meeting went well, and keyboardist Ian McLagan told the BBC that Rod Stewart "seems to finally want to do this." Ronnie Wood, by the way, who also of course plays for the Stones appears to have fallen off the wagon. Britain's Sun claims he has left his wife of 23 years, Jo, and taken up with an 18 year-old Russian cocktail waitress.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Magic tour is the second highest-grossing tour so far this year, according to Pollstar, the concert industry publication. It has taken in almost 41 million dollars over 29 shows, with an average ticket price of 99 dollars. Bon Jovi tops the list with 56 million from 39 shows, with an average ticket price of 88 bucks. Bon Jovi wrap up that tour tonight at New York's Madison Square Garden. Van Halen is third on the list with 36 million, and The Police are at number 10 with 23 million.

Speaking of Van Halen, former members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, who bill themselves as The Other Half, are making progress on the debut album from their supergroup, Chickenfoot. Anthony writes on his blog, "It is rocking and we hope to be in the studio finishing it up early September so we can get out there and play." Rounding out the lineup are guitarist Joe Satriani, who turns 52 today, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

Now that David Lee Roth has confirmed that he was not the one reportedly having a medical emergency in Canada on May 23rd (a night he was on stage with Van Halen in New York) cops in the small town of Brantford have egg on their face. Constable Larry Plummer, media relations officer for the police department, tells the Hamilton Spectator that the officers who pulled over the imposter for erratic driving never asked to see identification. He says, "They were too concerned with helping a man who was in medical distress." But the cops were not the only ones fooled. After checking out of the hospital, the Roth-a-like took two nurses out for drinks and jumped on stage to sing Van Halen's "Ice Cream Man" with a local band. That group's drummer, Joe Lavergne, tells the paper, "We weren't totally convinced at first because so many people come to shows saying they are someone famous or related to a star. But in Dave's case, he did pretty well." The imposter also gave a private performance to workers at a salon he visited.

Randy Bachman has sold his extensive collection of Gretsch guitars back to the Gretsch company, which had reached out to him when it needed models to use in making replica instruments after a fire. Bachman has long been a Gretch devotee. He used a 1950s Chet Atkins model on The Guess Who's first U-S hit, "Shakin' All Over," and on the B-T-O classic "Takin' Care of Business." Over the years, he'd collected more than 350 of the Georgia-based company's instruments, some dating from the 1920s. Gretsch guitars, by the way, are amazing instruments...I've always been a fan but never owned one.

The Grateful Dead's 1978 shows at the foot of the Great Pyramid in Egypt will be released as a two-C-D, one-D-V-D package on September 30th. Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978 contains unreleased audio and video. Fans who pre-order the set from
Dead-dot-net will receive an exclusive eight-song bonus disc that includes additional unreleased performances from the Egypt run. A digital version that includes all the C-D content will also be also available. Recorded on September 15th and 16th, 1978 at the Gizah Sound and Light Theater, the original 24-track recordings have been re-mastered for this set. The two C-Ds contain 18 tracks featuring more than three hours of music, and the D-V-D has 100 minutes of footage, including 13 songs from the third and final Egypt show, which took place during a lunar eclipse. The set comes in pyramid-inspired packaging and features rare photos from the trip.

NEW RELEASES:

Bruce Springsteen releases four live tracks and their accompanying videos from his Magic tour today through digital retailers. The fours songs on Magic Tour Highlights, all recorded this year with guest artists, are "Always a Friend," "The Ghost of Tom Joad," "Turn, Turn, Turn" (which was performed with Roger McGuinn of The Byrds), and the emotional "Fourth of July, Asbury Park," the late Danny Federici's final performance with the E Street Band, recorded on March 20th in Indianapolis. All of the artists, songwriters and music publishers are waiving their royalties, and Columbia Records is donating all of its net profits to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund. The I-Tunes Store is donating its first year's net profits as well.

John Mellencamp releases his new album, Life, Death, Love and Freedom, today. It's his first for the Starbucks Hear Music label, but you'll bve able to buy it anywhere. Mellencamp says the album, produced by T-Bone Burnett, is a collection of what John calls "modern electric folk songs."

ALSO:


No End in Sight: The Very Best of Foreigner CD by Foreigner
The Bank Job DVD
2007-2008 NBA Champions - Boston Celtics DVD
College Road Trip DVD
Shutter (Widescreen) (Unrated Edition) DVD
Saving Grace - Season 1 DVD
Eureka - Season Two DVD
Dallas - The Complete Ninth Season DVD

Monday, July 14, 2008

Vinyl Monday

Okay, fine.
So what if they were one of the infamous, unfortunate "W Bands" of the big hair movement of the 1980s? So what if David Coverdale fired everyone who made the album but himself, so that by the time the videos rolled around, it was a completely different lineup? And finally, so what if Tawny Kitaen eventually evolved into some kind of violent sasquatch? She was still smokin' hot in 1987, dancing on the hood of that car.
It's side one of the eponymous Bazillion-seller from Whitesnake, on Vinyl Monday:
Crying In The Rain
Bad Boys
Still Of The Night
Here I Go Again

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Vacation Time

Tommie, who maintains this site, will be gone from July 3rd to July 14th, so unless he gets really bored (unlikely) this site will be taking a bit of a nap.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Heatherless Headlines

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Fireworks Safety

Big Thanks to Chief Vance for coming in this morning!
Hear his Fireworks Safety Tips on the usPod!

Entertainment News for Tuesday

Craig will be pleased when he gets back: Eddie Murphy, like most critics, has apparently had enough of Eddie Murphy movies. Although he's about to revive Beverly Hills Cop for another go-round, Murphy told Extra that at "50 years old, I'll have been making movies 30 years and I have close to 50 movies, and it is like, why am I in the movies? I've done that part now. I'll go back to the stage and do standup." No word on how his favorite co-star, Eddie Murphy, is handing the news of this impending retirement.

While Madonna reportedly gets her legal ducks in a row to divorce husband Guy Ritchie, a lavish 50th birthday party for the Material Mom is being planned -- by husband Guy Ritchie! Meanwhile, things are not okay at Madonna's childhood home. The suburban Detroit home went up in a blaze Friday night, and yesterday the local sheriff's department deemed the fire suspicious was investigating the possibility of arson. I;m not sure, but this might be the first recorded arson in the history of Detroit...I'll check my sources...

Was that Verne Troyer sex tape leaked by Verne Troyer? It turns out that the little actor has big problems with the I-R-S -- to the tune of about 283-thousand dollars in back taxes he reportedly owes in Michigan and California. While the two-foot-eight "Mini-Me" has been going around suing over the tape -- claiming it was stolen -- one company is reportedly trying to convince him to release it in exchange for some cold, hard cash. So you may yet have the chance to gaze on 32-inches of Verne working his magic on 64-inches of ex-girlfriend Ranae Shrider. Or you could gouge your eyes.

The contract between Hollywood studios and the Screen Actors Guild expired at midnight. The next big Christian Bale film is in jeopardy if actors strike. He tells us, "I've now begun working on Terminator. Whilst I'm making movies, the rest of the world ceases to exist for me, [but] I hope there's nobody out there who wants to have a strike. I hope that everybody wants to be able make a deal. The industry is reeling from the writers' strike. People are barely recovering from that. I can't understand why anyone would be desiring to strike rather than make a deal."

Tuesday Rock Roundup

Aerosmith's Hottest Daughter, Liv Tyler, is 31 today. Dan Aykroyd is 56, as is Elwood Blues. Debbie Harry of Blondie is 63 and still kind of a bitch.

REO Speedwagon will do a benefit for victims of the Midwest floods next month. "Ridin' The Storm Out" will be held in Altoona, Iowa on July 16th, with all proceeds going to the state's flood victims. The Little River Band will also be on the bill. REO is just up the shore in Muskegon, Michigan tonight.


Tom Petty's trying to help out, too. He and the Heartbreakers are using the front row seats at their shows to help out Midwestern flood victims. The band usually upgrades fans in the worst seats to the front row seats before each show but now they're auctioning off these tickets with all proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity. Auctions are already under way for shows happening this week, with more auctions starting next Monday for the band's non-festival dates the rest of the summer. Head to Petty's website for more details.

Last year's reissue of Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same will be released on vinyl on July 22nd. Originally released in 1976, the four-album set documents Zeppelin's three-night stand at New York's MadisonSquareGarden in 1973. It has been remastered and contains six additional songs not featured on the original -- "Black Dog," "Over the Hills and Far Away," "Misty Mountain Hop," "Since I've Been Loving You," "The Ocean" and "Heartbreaker."It also comes with a 12-page oversized full-color booklet with liner notes by Cameron Crowe and dozens of previously unpublished stills from the film. And on August 26th, Led Zeppelin's 2007 hits collection, Mothership, will make its vinyl debut as a four-album set.

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has been in the news for going back into rehab for pain killers and sleeping pills, but what about the other members of Aerosmith who've had their share of ailments and scares over the past few years? The most serious is bassist Tom Hamilton, who learned two years ago that he had throat cancer. He tells us he's doing "great and getting all good reports." Guitarist Joe Perry continues to recover from knee surgery, and drummer Joey Kramer is doing well following shoulder surgery a few years back. Guitarist Brad Whitford has no medical conditions to report.

Just days after Aerosmith unveiled the Guitar Hero videogame based on their songs, The Who announced that a dozen of their tracks will be part of the Rock Band videogame's The Best of The Who Rock Band Edition.

Alice Cooper is giving his fans a sneak peek of his new album, Along Came a Spider, in stores July 29th. He's posted one of the songs, "Vengeance Is Mine," on his website. Cooper starts a European tour Sunday in Bulgaria.

RATT cut short their show in Monterrey, Mexico the other night because singer Stephen Pearcy reportedly had a bad case of jet lag. At one point he lost his balance and fell into the crowd. The band then left the stage after 50 minutes, and when they returned, Pearcy was not with them. Rhythm guitarist John Corabi, who was Motley Crue's singer for about five minutes in the 1990s, took over on vocals.

KISS paid a visit to the troops stationed at the Spangdahlem [spang-duh-lem] Air Base last Thursday on the way to their show in Luxembourg. KISS wrapped up their European tour last night in Belgium. They're back in the states starting August 4th in Sturgis, South Dakota for the rally.

Santana moved their show last Thursday in Slovakia to last night because of inclement weather...which begs the question: how well does he do in Slovakia? Do they sing along to Oye Como Va?

Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath with Dio) are recording their next album, which they plan to release early next year.

NEW RELEASES THIS WEEK:

Mad Men - Season One DVD
The Closer - The Complete Third Season DVD
30 Days: The Complete Second Season DVD
Walker, Texas Ranger: The Complete Fifth Season DVD
Vantage Point (Two-Disc Special Edition) DVD
Drillbit Taylor (Unrated Extended Survival Edition) with Owen Wilson DVD
Two for the Show live CD by Kansas rereleased with extra tracks
Pretty much every album by Van Morrison is out again on CD with extra tracks
The
Hancock Soundtrack on CD
Hole in the Sun by Night Ranger
and
Somewhere Back in Time: The Best of 1980-1989 by Iron Maiden on LP Record. Cool.