Month: January 2014 (Page 3 of 4)

We have two topical videos for you this week. If you are not local and don’t read or watch the news, you probably should know that Charleston, West Virginia and the surrounding area are facing a water crisis, with “Do Not Use” orders in place for all tap water for 300,000 residents, with no timeline for a return of non-poisoned water service. This is all due to a leak at a coal industry-affiliated chemical plant that for some reason was allowed to operate less than two miles upstream from our water system’s intake.

Bars and restaurants are shut down, the music scene is on hold. And once again, West Virginia makes international news in an embarrassing and negative manner.

RFC contributor Jake Fertig has created a quick editorial cartoon that expresses a lot of the frustration over this.

And we also have an all-star song from the movie “Water,” which has a most ironic title.

“Water” is a pretty odd little movie about the battle for water rights in a fictional Carribean Island nation. In the above clip you’ll find Michael Caine, Billy Connelly, Jimmy Cliff, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Valerie Perrine,  and Jimmy “JJ” Walker.  You’ll also hear a snippet of Eddy Grant’s theme song, too.

Turns out that when it comes to water, we maybe DON’T want “Freedom.”

Episode 17 of Radio Free Charleston saw your host, Rudy Panucci, sporting a “Kung Fu Grip” Shirt, and was loaded with all sorts of cool stuff. We had RFC Diva, Melanie Larch in a wrestling ring, cutting a promo. Music from John Radcliff and Under The Radar, recorded at LiveMix Studio, and we had an episode of Pentagram Flowerbox and our end credit repurposed a Stan Freberg commercial. Go back to March, 2007, for “Kung Fu Grip Shirt.”  You can find the original production notes here.

The PopCulteer
January 10, 2014

Today’s Popculteer has been shut down on orders from the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.

Not really. But our time was taken up last night securing water to get us through this chemical-spill emergency and trying to sort out what was and wasn’t open, so we didn’t have time to write the intended PopCulteer column for today. It will probably show up next week.

We hear that The Empty Glass will try to remain open using bagged ice, bottled water and plastic cups, but the kitchen is closed. I don’t know of any other area establishments that are going to be operating as usual until the “Do Not Use Water” advisory is lifted. If you do know of any, please share them in the comments. Area restaurants and bars were ordered closed, but if they can make arrangements to operate without water, apparently they can still do business.

Our regular PopCult features will all be in place, and if I get news of any other venues that will be open this weekend, I’ll do an extra “Stuff To Do” post, but for now, this looks like a good weekend to catch up on your reading.

Until further notice, all bars and restaurants in Kanawha, Putnam, and the other counties affected by the water emergency are closed.  Any of tonight’s events, unless the establishment gets their water from a source besides West Virgina-American Water, are canceled.  We will keep you updated on tomorrow evening’s events.

The Empty Glass pledges to remain open with plastic cups, hand sanitizer and pre-bagged ice as long as they can, or until they get the order to shut down from the health department.

The PopCult Bookshelf

This week the PopCult Bookshelf looks at a magazine that I finally subscribed to after being tempted for many years. Now Playing is a monthly guide to the movies on TCM (Turner Classic Movies). You might think it’s a bit odd to pay for a program guide that only covers one channel, but TCM is a special case.

For one thing, TCM is commercial-free and shows all its movies uncut. They also focus on classic movies, most of them more than twenty or thirty years old. TCM may well be the most cleverly-programmed television channel in history. Many times the movies flow into one another with the skill of a highly-talented deejay. Other times movies are lined up together because of goofy themes, like sharing a word in their titles.

The fact is, TCM programs the greatest and most notable movies in Hollywood’s history (and beyond), and since they put so much effort into what they do, it’s nice to have a printed guide with which to follow along.

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Digital painting of Sheldon Vance

This week on the RFC MINI SHOW we bring you the music of Sheldon Vance. Sheldon calls his music “Acoustic Country Punk” and that’s a pretty apt description. In his music you can hear traces of Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams…but it also shares a lot of musical DNA with Joe Strummer. Sheldon melds his influences into something new and exciting.

We recorded Sheldon at Kanawha Players Theater a couple of weeks ago. This was part of an open mic/concert series produced by Project Biscotti, whom you will be seeing on Radio Free Charleston soon. You will hear two great songs, an uptempo rocker, “Turn It Back Around,” and a political country ballad, “This American Dream”

Sheldon has a CD available and is also actively seeking gigs. If you’d like to hear this music in person, contact him through his official Facebook page. Keep checking PopCult for updates on the next shows at KP, and for more info on Project Biscotti and Sheldon Vance.

I have not forgotten you. “Stuff To Do” returns with a look at what’s happening in and around Charleston for the next couple of days.

Wednesday

Comedy Night The Blue Parrot returns for it’s first show of the year Wednesday at 8:30 PM. This month, they’re turning over the stage to the ladies for the showcase portion of the show. Headlining is Wendi Furguson, from Dayton. Recently, Wendy was a Semi-Finalist in the Columbus Funny Bone’s Talent Search, and has been performing all over Ohio.

Also featured is Charleston’s own Sheila Hooker. Rounding out the line-up will be local ladies Lynn Browder and Annie Lane, both of Charleston, WV, and Angela Davis, from Huntington, WV. There will be an Open Mic following the showcase. Five bucks gets you in the door.

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Remember those crappy Hasbro 12″ action figures I wrote about last year? Well, they have apparently had some influence on Mattel, who released some 12″ figures of WWE wrestlers right before Christmas. While they have a lot in common with the Hasbro efforts, these figures are actually pretty good, with great articulation and good likenesses.

There are three figures (so far) in this line, unofficially called “Twelve-inch Titans,” and all indications are that these were initially intended for the Latin American market, possibly being diverted to the United States as an afterthought. They can be found locally for $14.99 at Toys R Us, and at Kid Country Toys for a few bucks more. TRU online has them for under twelve dollars at the moment.

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Our first Monday Morning Art of the new year is a digital painting of my imaginary daughter, Kitty Killton. This is based on a cheesy camera phone photo taken in my living room last week when we were celebrating her birthday a few days late.

This spring, you can see Kitty onstage with the Wayward Girls School of Burlesque, and she’ll also turn up in future episodes of Radio Free Charleston. As always, click to enlarge.

A full restored version of Fritz Lang’s classic film, “Metropolis” is coming to the The Electric Sky Theater at The Clay Center on February 7 and 8 at 7 PM.  I will be writing much more about this in the coming weeks, but for now, check out this trailer, edited by Devon Nuckles.