Month: November 2019 (Page 5 of 6)

This week I’m back to using the Blackwing Palamino pencil. You’ll be reading more about that particular drawing implement later today in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide. I am falling in love with this soft, smooth line.

For this exercise in pencil discipline, I used one of my own images from the 2010 Stark Charleston animated short that I made for the 100th episode of Radio Free Charleston. Based on a photo I took while driving across the South Side Bridge into Charleston. I brought up the photo on the computer screen and sketched out the outlines, then finished it on the kitchen table, in a traditional artist’s hunched-over position.  I’m really enjoying having the use of my hands again.

If you wish, you can click this image to see it bigger.

Meanwhile, over in radio-land, Monday on The AIR, our Monday Marathon presents eight hours of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat starting at 7 AM. At 3 PM we are expecting to bring you am encore episode of Prognosis from a couple of months ago. Tomorrow The AIR will proudly welcome a new program from an old friend to the lineup. We’ll tell you about that Tuesday morning.

You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on this embedded radio player…

Also, some time after noon today you can expect the next entry in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide. The plan is to recommend at least three gifts for you later Monday, with multiple entries each day.

We have our first combo post in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide, as we re-recommend Rick Wakeman’s Gastank DVD set, which was originally a pick in The 2017 Gift Guide. Now we can embed a sample above, the very first episode, in fact, and give you a better idea of what the show is about.It’s still available from Amazon, and it’s still a delight to watch.

Gastank was a television show that aired between 1982–1983 on Channel 4 in the UK. Hosted by Rick Wakeman and Tony Ashton the show featured a mix of interviews with 1970s musicians and impromptu performances where the guest artist would join Rick and his house band in playing re-arranged versions of their classic songs, or entirely new pieces created for the show.

The format is very informal with the setting likened to a bar where Wakeman would interview the guest over a drink or five, followed by their performance in front of a small studio audience sitting in groups at tables. Wakeman would frequently refer to the show as a bit of a drunken clubhouse with music. During its run, the show featured guests as diverse as:- Rick Parfitt, Ian Paice, Steve Hackett, Maggie Bell, Roy Wood, Andy Fairweather Low, John Entwistle, Godley and Creme, Suzy Quatro, Donovan, The Strawbs, Eric Burdon, Chris Farlowe, Frankie Millar, Phil Lynott, Alvin Lee, and many others.

Released first time on DVD in 2017,  all of the episodes of Gastank are available for the first time in the United States ever, and also for the first time since they were initially aired in the UK. Rick Wakeman explains in the liner notes, “For many years, many of you have been asking us to release this material from the show I presented with Tony Ashton back in the early 80’s. Gastank was an opportunity for iconic musicians from different bands to get the opportunity to perform live together. I hope it brings back memories and for those not around when the programmes went out, enjoy some unique performances.”

The show is a blast, with musicians having fun, talking shop and playing the music they love. The easiest way to order it is through Amazon, where the price tends to fluctuate, but is always a bargain for two DVD’s packed full of every episode of the show.

This week we’re going back to February, 2014, for an episode of The RFC MINI SHOW featuring music that was recorded the previous November. This MINI SHOW brought you two songs from our old friends, Frenchy and The Punk.

This will be the last RFC Flashback for a couple of weeks, as we take time off for the 2019 PopCult Gift Guide, but we wanted to make it to this episode so we could remind everyone that Frenchy and The Punk have plenty of new music since the last time they graced the Radio Free Charleston video show with their presence, and it would make for a terrific gift or three for the lover of great, original, independent music on your holiday shopping list. Visit their online store, and buy up everything in sight. People will love you for it.

In this episode, we go back to a November 2013 session at The Empty Glass to revisit two songs that Frenchy and The Punk performed previously on Radio Free Charleston, only with new performances, “Birthday Fanfare” and “Yes, I’m French.”

Our next enty in the 2019 PopCult Gift Guide is for a very special record label/retailer located in the UK, Burning Shed Records. I’m telling you about them now so that, if you order from them, there will be plenty of time for your order to arrive. They do suggest that orders in the USA be placed before December 9.

Burning Shed was established in April 2001 by musicians Tim Bowness and Pete Morgan, who saw it as a modern version of such boutique record labels as 4AD, Factory, ECM, DGM and Mute. Burning Shed hosts the official online shops for Porcupine Tree, Lo-Fi Resistance, No-Man, OSI, Medium (Jansen, Barbieri and Karn), 21st Century Schizoid Band, Rothko, Roger Eno, Hugh Hopper and Hatfield and the North and many more. The label is also the official online distributor for Peaceville Records and the new post-progressive imprint Kscope (both Snapper Music divisions).

More recently, Burning Shed has become the host of official stores for Andy Partridge, King Crimson, Thomas Dolby, DGMLive, Bill Bruford, Jethro Tull and others, and that is largely why we’ve chosen the entire label, as our focus, since you can find a variety of exclusive releases from the worlds of prog-rock, art-rock, New Wave and avante garde musical artists. They also sell magazines like PROG, and have great shipping prices and special deals.

And because the UK is in such a state of chaos, the exchange rate is very favorable for US customers, so you might want to order before the UK general election in December, when things may stabilize.

As examples of the kind of niftiness in which Burning Shed trades, I’m going to recommend four recent releases that I have personally acquired for my collection.

The Dukes Of Stratosphear
Psurroundabout Ride

The Dukes, in case you didn’t know, were an alter ego for the band, XTC, who decided they wanted to make some psychedelic music that wasn’t exactly what their New Wave followers were used to hearing. So they created a fictional and and took psuedonyms and the result was a brilliant EP and full album that remain obscure and beloved by die-hard fans. Psurroundabout Ride gathers all of the Dukes’ material on a CD/Blu-Ray set, with both of the band’s albums (plus 2 extra tracks) remixed in stereo and 5.1 surround by Steven Wilson (approved by Andy Partridge). Produced by John Leckie (Swami Anand Nagara) and The Dukes.

This collection includes both albums + 2 extra tracks mixed in 5.1 surround by Steven Wilson on Blu-Ray and CD (with a final song up-mixed to surround using the Penteo audio system). They say that there are two extra tracks, but there were three tunes on the disc that I’d never heard before. The Blu-Ray includes all 19 songs in their original mixes in hi-res stereo; 18 songs appear in their new mixes in hi-res stereo; Complete demos from both albums & instrumental versions of album songs also feature in hi-res stereo on the Blu-Ray.

It’s a pretty remarkable collection (you can expect to hear a lot from it on The AIR in the coming weeks) and at £16.99 plus shipping, it’s very reasonable. You can order it HERE.

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The PopCulteer
November 8, 2019

We find ourselves at the end of the week, and we have a few cool things to tell you about.

First, however, I need to explain what’s going on with the 2019 PopCult Gift Guide. Some technical issues on my end have slowed down progress on the Gift Guide, and we haven’t been quite as prolific as planned. Later today we expect to publish a couple of new posts, but over this weekend we’ll probably cut down to one gift guide post per day, before kicking into high gear next Monday.

So bear with us. We already have several great gift suggestions posted for you, and we’ll be bringing you dozens more before we wrap things up on Thanksgiving.

Now, if you want to do some early holiday shopping, then check out the first of three cool weekend events happening in the area that I’m telling you about today.

The 2019 Mountain State Pop Expo

This one almost snuck up on me. Every year Dave Humphreys and his crew organize a celebration of pop culture featuring cosplay, comics, toys, collectibles and panels! All proceeds from this event go directly to the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia.

This year, as in previous years, it’s happening at the Holiday Inn & Suites Charleston West, located at 400 2nd Avenue SW, South Charleston. Oldtimers like me will remember this as the former Ramada Inn by the Interstate , not too far from “D” Street.

This year The Pop Expo is spread over two days. There are now two tabletop gaming areas (and you can buy custom MSPX dice). There’s also a raffle, with tons of fantastic items you can walk away with, like a cover sketch by Glen Brogan, a gift basket from the Flatwoods Monster Musuem (seen below), hand-made jewelry, gift certificates for stays at cool places and much, much more. There will also be door prizes given away every hour, with gift certificates from several local restaurants.

MSPX Panel Room Schedule

Saturday Nov. 9

10am-11am “Cosplay on a Budget – Making Great Cosplay Without the Great Expense” w/ Christian Foster
11am-2pm Advancing Wall of Doom’s “Ballroom Hoedown!”: Class & Party
2pm-3pm Third Floor Comics *LIVE* “Fantastic Floor Nerdcast”
3:30pm-4:30pm Final Form Fusion *LIVE*
5pm-6pm MSPX 2019 Cosplay Competition
6pm-Close The No Pants Players *LIVE*

Sunday Nov. 10

10am-12pm Untitled Goose Game *Live* Twitch w/ Advancing Wall of Doom
12pm-1pm MSPX 2019 Cosplay Lip Sync Battle
1pm-2pm MSPX 2019 Kids Costume Contest!
2pm-3pm Ghostbusters – West Virginia Division
3pm-4pm “World Building & Character Creation” w/ Joshua E.B. Smith
4pm-5pm IWA East Coast “*LIVE* Wrestling Round Table Discussion”
5pm-6pm RAFFLE TIME!!!

MSPX is always a fun time, and you can find lots of great holiday gifts for the cooler people on your shopping list. All the proceeds go to a great cause, and it’s only ten bucks to get in. (fifteen for both days)

What more do you need to know?

IWA East Coast Presents “American Psychos”

Friday night at the Kings Way Outreach Center in Nitro, just a day before their panel at the Mountain State Pop Expo, IWA East Coast runs another great wrestling show.
UFC Hall of Famer “The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar will be in action. “The Reaper” Matt Conard defends the IWA: East Coast title against Jason “The Gift” Kincaid. IWA:East Coast tag champs Smokey C and “The Dark Child” Chance Prophet defend their titles against The Gym Nasty Boys. Chance Rizer faces Kobain, all this and more!
Check out the graphic below. It’s going to be a hot show.

All Star Wrestling’s Welcome to Badstreet USA

Saturday evening, you can head down the road to Madison for another night of great independent wrestling.

The Law Office Of Steve New State Farm Agent Scotty Brown and New Haven Church presents WELCOME TO BADSTREET USA, Live at the Madison Civic Center Madison WV.FEATURING WWE Alumni stars Carlito, James Ellsworth and The Man they call Gilberg!

Can you imagine the awesomeness? How can one arena hold both Gillberg and Ellsworth?

Also SRO, The Ugly Ducks, Huffmanly, Vance Desmond, Jack Manic, Dustin Alexzander Casey King and many more! Check out the graphic for more details.

And with that, your PopCulteer wraps up this week’s column and prepares to bring you more entries in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide, along with all our other regular features.

JoJo Siwa

JoJo Siwa is a pop culture phenomenon. Chances are that, unless you have a pre-teen girl in your household, you may not have heard of her before, but the fact is she is HUGE these days with the kids. She has a loyal following who call themselves “Siwanators”

A Vlogger and singer with millions of fans, the 16-year old superstar first rose to prominence as a cast member on the Lifetime series, Dance Moms, before leaving that show and finding greater fame on YouTube, and now in a world-wide pact with Nickelodeon. In fact, she’s all over the Nickelodeon Gift Guide, but we’re going to spread to world to our PopCult readers, who may not keep up the kids.

JoJo is currently on her first headline tour – D.R.E.A.M. The Tour is sponsored by Party City – and will travel to more than 70 cities across the US & Canada. 2019 is JoJo’s Sweet Sixteen birthday year, and retailers nationwide will feature special-edition products for both her birthday and on the DREAM tour!

If you have a pre-teen girl on your holiday shopping list, there’s a good chance that you can’t go wrong with JoJo Siwa gifts. There’s plenty of them out there, so we’ll mention some of the best ideas for this holiday season, complete with suggested retail price links to where you can buy them online, where available.

TOYS

JoJo Hairdorables
JoJo Siwa is the newest member of the collecitble Hairdorables squad! Dressed in an outfit from her D.R.E.A.M. tour, each Special Edition JoJo Loves Hairdorables includes 10 surprises and captures JoJo’s bright personality and inspiring message to live “the sweet life.” The JoJo Hairdorables Dolls even feature JoJo’s signature bow and side-pony. Collect the JoJo Hairdorable Doll in each of her two styles. Ages 3+,  SRP $12.99. Available at Walmart, Walmart.com, Target, Amazon, and Meijer.

JoJo Siwa Singing Dolls – D.R.E.A.M
It’s JoJo with the bow-bow! Sporting her signature oversized bow, this 10” JoJo doll sings her hit song, “Boomerang!” This beautiful JoJo doll features poseable arms and le gs and looks just like the JoJo we all know and love! She also comes with a pink microphone, and a hairbrush to help young fans brush and style her flowing blonde locks! The Singing JoJo Doll will inspire young girls to be themselves through empowering and uplifting positive play! Ages 6+, SRP $19.99. Available at Walmart, Walmart.com, Target, Amazon, Kohls, and Meijer.

JoJo’s D.R.E.A.M. Car
Jojo is on the road and living the dream in her new fully customized convertible, featuring colorful stripes, stars, unicorns, and even a portrait of JoJo! Girls can place their JoJo singing doll into the Teal Blue driver’s seat and cruise around singing JoJo’s top hits! Jojo’s D.R.E.A.M. Car even features 4 different colored wheel rims, just like JoJo’s real car! Push the D.R.E.A.M. Car along and help JoJo spread her message inspiring young fans to be themselves through empowering and uplifting positive play! Ages 3+, SRP $17.99, Available at Amazon.

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We go back to our back-up formula this week for Radio Free Charleston International, which you can hear at 3 PM Thursday timeslot on The AIR. You can listen at the website, or on this embedded radio player…

As is our new Thursday norm, we now have a replay of this week’s Radio Free Charleston at 2 PM, followed by a brand-new episode of Radio Free Charleston International at 3 PM. For you old-timers who remember the original broadcast incarnation of , this combination comes close to recreating the original experience, with your PopCulteer unleashed to play whatever he felt like playing, mixed with a generous helping of great local music.

You can read about this week’s episode of RFC HERE.

Radio Free Charleston International is the two-hour weekly show where Rudy Panucci (that’s me, by the way) gets to play whatever he wants. It’s our way of revisiting the golden age of free-format radio, which is sort of what inspired us to go into this medium in the first place.

Once again in this week’s new episode of Radio Free Charleston International, I’m going with a mimxtape presentation, so to find out what I’m playing, you’ll have to follow along with the playlist below.  This week we’re using this format because a combination of technical issues and really loud stuff happening in the neighborhood have made it difficult to record the host segments, and I’m still working on the show just hours before it debuts. Today’s show is loaded with great music from the team of Andy Partridge and Robyn Hitchcock, Eddie Jobson, Rick Wakeman, The Dukes of The Stratosphear and Mike McGear.

If you want to buy the opening track, which is a new collaboration between XTC’s former frontman, Andy Partridge, and Robyn Hitchcock, go to Burning Shed Records, who will ship it to you direct from Planet England. We’ll be mentioning them again in the Gift Guide very soon.

Check out the playlist:

RFC International 074

Andy Partridge & Robyn Hitchcock “Planet England”
Mike McGear “Have You Got Problems”
Rick Wakeman “White Rock”
Eddie Jobson “Resident”
The Clash “Justice Tonight/Kick It Over”
The Pixies “Daniel Boone”
Hawkwind “All Aboard The Skylark”
Marilyn Manson “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”
ELO “One More Time”
Animal ДжаZ “Так надо”
Ray Wilson “Bless Me”
Dukes of the Stratosphear “Human Beans”
Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisted “Musical Box”
Jethro Tull “Budapest”
Dosed “Jam Song”
Jan Akkerman “Good Body Every Evening”
Moana “Promise”
The Brokedown Dukes “Hellbound”
Reverent Jukie “Creole Love Call”
Charlie P “Secret Survivor”

You can tune in to RFC International every Thursday at 3 PM on The AIR. If you miss it, you have plenty of chances to catch a replay: Fridays at 1 PM and 10 PM, Saturdays at 1 PM, Sundays at 1 AM and 2 PM, Mondays at 9 PM, and Tuesdays at 11 PM, exclusively on The AIR.

The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide will resume this afternoon.

The Chronicles of Don’t Be So Ridiculous Valley
by Mike Batt
Mango Books /London Street Books
ISBN: 9781911273837
£20.00+p&p

Our next pick in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide is not yet available from retailers in the US, so you’ll have to order it directly from the publisher in the UK. That’s why I’m recommending it this early in the Gift Guide, so that you’ll have time to have it delivered. Luckily, because of the chaos over Brexit, the British Pound is at a low point, and that makes for the best exchange rate in US dollars in a long time. You can order this book in signed and unsigned editions HERE.

The book is The Chronicles of Don’t Be So Ridiculous Valley, an absurdist fairy tale written by Mike Batt, whose work as a musician I’ve been telling PopCult readers about for years. Batt first made his mark writing and performing songs for The Wombles, a mid-1970s children’s show in Britain which was about little creatures living in Wimbledon who picked up trash and recycled what they could, then disposed of the rest.

Batt then recorded a series of solo albums which brought him a cult following with music that somehow managed to combine full orchestrations with progressive rock and New Wave. Over the last thirty years or so Batt has guided the careers of artists like Katie Melua and The Planets as a manager and producer while also working on a myriad of other projects.

In the early 90s, to take his mind off of a very serious work-in-progress, Batt began writing what became The Chronicles of Don’t Be So Ridiculous Valley, a very clever, very silly fairy tale that shows the influence of Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien, Shrek and The Young Ones, while remaining quite original.

The end result is delightful and whimsical without being so sweet that it makes you want to puke.

The book’s PR does as good a job as I can of describing the story:

Can a slug learn to play the piano, even though he has no hands? Can a slug defeat an army of nasty, evil Christmas-hating slug-squashing Pigfrogs? Can he trick a beautiful fairy into fancying him for long enough to marry him and live happily ever after?

Probably not, but if you don’t try…

Step with us into the crazy world of Don’t Be So Ridiculous Valley (which is actually a hill) and to Woodland Land, home of two married fairy helicopter pilots, Nigel and Dotty Farnsbarnes.

Yep, there’s a ton of fairies and slugs in this book, no question.

This is the first edition of The Chronicles of Don’t Be So Ridiculous Valley as a physical book, and it’s lushly illustrated by a team of artists led by John Golser, plus it’s just loads of fun. Batt’s writing style is very British, very silly and immensely entertaining.

This book will be the perfect gift for the young and young at heart, and I would suspect that it’s a good choice to read to children…who aren’t easily frightened by Pigfrogs (seen below). The story of Ergo (seen left), the slug with a dream, is sure to inspire and/or confuse kids everywhere.

Since this concept has been kicking around in the mind of the very busy Mr. Batt for probably close to a quarter century, it shouldn’t be a surprise that there has been talk of adapting it into other media. Rik Mayall recorded a large part of a proposed podcast starring Ergo before his passing, and you can hear some of that at this website devoted to a proposed film version.

Not only is this a delightful and very entertaining illustrated storybook, it’s also your chance to get in on what may well be the NEXT BIG THING!

And even if it doesn’t, at least you get an overwhelmingly enjoyable story out of the deal, and a book that you will treasure for years.

This Wednesday afternoon The AIR, presents a special new episodes of Beatles Blast and Curtain Call.  You can listen at the website, or on this embedded radio player…

At 2 PM Beatles Blast brings you another hour of The Lost Beatles Project, which combines rare cuts, studio outtakes and musical rarities into a nearly-60 minute mixtape of little-heard Beatles gems.

Beatles Blast can be heard every Wednesday at 2 PM, with replays Thursday at 9 PM, Friday at 11 AM, Sunday at 5 PM and Tuesdays at 9 AM, exclusively on The AIR.

At 3 PM Mel Larch presents a new hour of great musical theater on Curtain Call. This time it’s another looke at Jukebox Musicals, those musical stage shows and revues that use existing hit songs to tell their stories. The show opens with David Byrne and the cast of American Utopia performing a classic Talking Heads number, and continues with songs made famous by The Beatles, Green Day, Elton John, Gloria Gaynor, Meatloaf and more. Check out the playlist…

Curtain Call 075

“Once In A Lifetime” from American Utopia
“Wake Me Up When September Ends” From American Idiot
“Come Together” from Boom (Live at Birdland) with Liz Callaway and Ann Hampton Callaway
“True Love Ways” from Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (London Cast)
“I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” from Promises Promises
“Your Song” from Moulin Rouge
“Since I Lost My Baby” from Ain’t Too Proud –The Life And Times Of The Temptations
“I Will Survive” from The Donkey Show
“Heaven Is A Place On Earth” from Head Over Heels
“I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” from Jim Stienman’s Bat Out of Hell
“War” from Motown The Musical
“Summertime” from A Night With Janis

After the new hour of Curtain Call, stick around for two additional episodes from the Curtain Call archives. Curtain Call can be heard Wednesday at 3 PM, with replays Thursday at 8 AM and 8 PM, Friday at 10 AM and Saturday at 5 PM. An all-night marathon of Curtain Call episodes can be heard Wednesday nights, beginning at Midnight, and an additional marathon can be heard Sunday evenings from 6 PM to midnight..

Tonta [A Love & Rockets Graphic Novel]
by Jaime Hernandez
Fantagraphics
978-1-68396-205-2
$19.99 (less at Amazon)

The latest hardback collection from Jamie Hernandez is a fun compilation of previously-published short stories starring Tonta, a minor character from his expansive “Locas” universe in Love ^ Rockets.

Tonta (Spanish for “Stupid,” a name given to her by her mother), is a high-school girl with a family made up of a distant mother and a large collection of half and step-siblings. She’s brash and reckless and oblivious to some of the more sinister things happening in her life.

This story is set in a modern corner of the “Locas” world. Maggie shows up in one panel, and Tonta’s half-sister, Vivian, has been featured in other stories before, but Tonta is notable for being the first major work starring characters who are not around the same age as Hernandez. After depicting characters that were roughly his own age (and aged in real time over the last forty years), this is a bit of a departure and shows that Jaime is still a master storyteller even when his characters are from another generation.

You don’t need to be familiar with the Love & Rockets canon to enjoy Tonta, and that makes it a great entry-level story for comics fans who haven’t been exposed to to the work of Los Bros. Hernandez before. This is a brisk read, still with the complex plotlines and realistic dialogue that fans of Love & Rockets are used to.

Let’s check the publisher’s description:

Summer’s here, and all Tonta wants to do is go swimming, hop on her skateboard, get drunk, and listen to her favorite punk band, Ooot. But her idyllic weekend is disrupted by a botched burglary that forces her to confront her dysfunctional family history. Through it all, from Tonta’s teenaged angst to her half sister Vivian’s drama to the thrills and chaos of an underground lucha libre match, Tonta showcases Hernandez’s brilliant characterization, storytelling, and mastery of the form.

A standalone graphic novel that shines a light on the family tree of one of Hernandez’s most memorable characters of the past several years, the teenager Tonta.

In this graphic novel, teenager Tonta is staying for the weekend with her half-sister, the self-absorbed Vivian. At home, Tonta’s stepfather is shot during a botched burglary, which leads to the discovery of family secrets that require Tonta to confront some unpleasant truths that she previously managed to suppress or remain ignorant of. Through it all, Tonta showcases Hernandez’s brilliant talent for character, weaving a host of characters and milieus from his vast arsenal. Meanwhile, back at school, Tonta and Gomez discover that Coach Angel harbors a secret of her own (can you say, “lucha libre?”) while local punk band Ooot provides the soundtrack for a summer not soon to be forgotten. Black & white illustrations throughout.

Tonta is a great gift for fans of Love & Rockets, but is also perfect for the graphic novel newbie who hasn’t yet become a fan.You can probably order it from any comic book store or book store using the ISBN number, or use the links above.