Rudy Panucci On Pop Culture

Month: May 2008 (Page 1 of 2)

CD Review: The Concept “The Empire Penguin Strikes Back”

The new CD, buy it this weekend!First, a disclaimer:  The members of The Concept are friends of mine.  I call them “my adopted nephews” and they thank me in the liner notes of their new album. That’s why I’m reviewing their CD, “The Empire Penguin Strikes Back” here in PopCult, instead of over in the NewSounds blog.  It’s not a major ethical dilemma, or anything like that. I just thought it’d be easier to explain to my regular PopCult readers.  So, even though I’m a fan and friend of the band, and I’ve had them on Radio Free Charleston several times, I will strive to be as objective as possible.  I also shot and edited the promo video for their shows that’s posted right below this post here at PopCult, and did the same for the “video blogs” that you’ll see over the next two days.  Part of being objective is letting you know about my personal relationship with the band.  Now you know, and knowing is half the battle! 

Named for their combined love of Star Wars and Penguins, The Concept’s first full-length CD, “The Empire Penguin Strikes Back” opens with half a minute of moody synthesized sounds that signals some musical growth from these fun-loving Charleston-based punksters.  The first real song is “Ye To The 10th Degree,” a hot blast of high-energy punk with slashing guitars, a pounding bass and driving percussion.  It’s a great opening salvo with lots of false starts and tempo changes. 

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Tuesday Morning Art: Cords & Cables

Let’s start the holiday-shortened week with a study in color, light, and composition.  Today’s art is “Cords & Cables,” a digital painting of, well, cords and cables.  It’s more about the colors and the way the light bounces off of everything than it is about the actual subject matter.  Hopefully, you think it’s purty.

Later today, look for video clips concerning the upcoming CD release shows by The Concept.  It’s “Concept Week” at PopCult.

As always, click the image for a larger version.  Also, you can cruise over to the Monday Morning Art Cafepress store and purchase this image on a variety of garments and fine trinketry.    Last week’s art never made it to the shop, but we may fix that soon. All of the artwork for Emily will be available from the PopCult Cafepress store at least through the end of summer. All proceeds will go to Emily.  I’m also working on hooking up with a local gallery to sell prints of this work, again with all the proceeds going to my friend Emily and her family. 

Brotherly Pride

Regular readers of PopCult probably already know that my brother, Frank Panucci, is a computer animator and artist, and is largely responsible for the unique look of the little webshow that I produce here for TheGazz.com, Radio Free Charleston.  Well, when I dropped the latest episode of RFC off to Frank for final preparation before we posted it here at The Gazz, he showed me a rough cut of his latest project. 

He’s done the animation and designs for the short film, “Automaton,” written and directed by Brian Delizareaux and produced by Red Fortress Entertainment.  I knew he’d been working on a film for a Los Angeles-based company, but I didn’t know how big a deal this film was.  “Automaton” made its debut last night at the Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City, California, it was screened as part of the pre-release party for a little film called “Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.” 

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The Hunger Force Is Strong With This One: Notes On RFC 42

Episode 42 of Radio Free Charleston is online now! This one’s called “Aqua Teen Hunger Force Shirt” and features music from Barrelhouse Bonnie, Doctor Senator, and The Synergy Collective. We also have a brief visit from WCW’s Daffney, and for some reason, I channel the energy of Bill O’Reilly in rant mode.

This is another of our genre-hopping shows, with honky-tonk piano from Bonni, straight ahead rock from Doctor Senator, and music with a message (and dance) from The Synergy Collective. You can catch The Synergy Collective this Saturday night, from 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM at Capitol Roasters Cafe. An added treat on RFC this time around is “Iron Man 1930,” vintage animation with a new soundtrack.

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Tuesday Afternoon Art: A Sequel

This week’s taste of PopCult Art is a sequel to “Looking” from a couple of weeks ago.  It’s called “Looking 2.”  This post will be updated with background info and details on the Cafepress stores later tonight, after I finish the production notes for RFC 42. For now, just look at the art.

Delays, and a treat

Monday Morning Art and Radio Free Charleston number 42 will both be delayed until tomorrow.  A very busy weekend left your PopCulter overwhelmed and needing extra time.

To hold you over, here’s a video from a great new  band that I caught last Friday night at The Blue Parrot.  They’re called Quick and Dirty, and this was their very first show.  You can expect to see them on RFC within a month! Take a look at “Super Ninja.”

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