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  • Garth Brooks, KISS, John Mayer – Saturday in the Park #1

    Garth Brooks at the Millenium March on Washing...
    Garth Brooks at the Millenium March in Washington, D.C. Image via Wikipedia

    You’re reading the first shot at Saturday In The Park.  This is the prototype.  We could blog all day long and cover the comings-and-goings of music, but that’s not what we do here.  We’re music geeks, not music journalists, although we’ll drop everything to interview an indie artist who is trying hard to make things happen.

    This isn’t Brother Mike’s Not Necessarily the News.  He’s serious about his music and writes it that way.  This is a fanboy snarkfest.  Jump in if you like that kind of thing.

    Garth Brooks Comeback:    Money Mike already wrote about this puppy.  Garth going to the Wynn Las Vegas isn’t the same as Elvis‘ 50 show gig in Vegas before his death (hmmm, I always that parallel), but Garth Brooks is one of the biggest selling recording artists ever.  When he quit and let wife Trish Yearwood bring home the bacon, their youngest kid was a pre-schooler.  Now he’s sort of back.  I’m sure the money is too good to turn away from, and a long-run Vegas gig gives him stability while still performing.  I may not fly to Vegas to see him, but I’ll catch his show next time I’m there.   One of the world’s best selling recording artists ever.  You kind of have to see him.

    Peter Criss Full Breast Cancer Recovery:  We talk about the women we love (Kylie, Olivia, Melissa) battling and beating breast cancer.  But KISS drummer Peter Criss did the same, and his speaking about battling the disease is inspirational.  This is one of those “oh, you’re weird” stories, and Peter has turned it in to a full-on education campaign.  I’m glad he’s cancer free.  I’m glad he has the courage and passion to speak out about the disease.    He’s been mostly free of KISS for 30 years except for the sporadic appearance and later blowup on stage, but he wrote and sang Beth and Hard Luck Woman so he gets a lifetime pass as a KISS guy, even if he really is a jazz drummer in his early 60s.

    NBC Boots Glee From Macy’s Day Parade:  You know, I haven’t watched the show.  I’ve seen two of the videos.  Would’ve made an interesting movie, I think, and probably beter than the Fame reboot. But if I own a network and some clueless development person books a competing act on the show I’m underwriting, well, I probably boot them too.    Sorry, Glee gang.  Don’t stop believing, okay?

    Artist in Residence: Trust struggling NBC to take a great concept (the artist in residence at a venue or with a troupe) and bastardize it for their own use.  Jon Bon Jovi, and we’re just saying that he records on sister label Universal, is NBC’s first artist-in-residence.  What’s that mean?  More Jon than you could ever imagine on NBC properties throughout November.   Look for him on Today, as a Jay Leno guest, on Dateline, in various specials (hey, maybe the parade now that they kicked the Fox Glee kids off!) and anything related to NBC.  It’s damn near Comcastic.  In a strange twist of coincidence, JBJ’s new album drops November 12 — the middle of the NBC glee fest celebrating his music.  Okay, no more NBC/Glee jokes.

    But we’ll end with one funny joke.  John Mayer’s quote as reported by Gawker.com when asked about healthcare.   “Have you ever heard me play guitar?  I’m really fucking good.  You know what I’m bad at?  Answering questions about public healthcare.

    Good on you, Brother John.  Maybe celebs will take a back seat on policy issues and let the politicos sort it out.  Except you, Bono, you already crossed to the dark side.   If Michael Hutchens was still alive, The Edge would’ve called him in to a studio five years ago.

  • Not Necessarily the News: Garth Brooks & Bill Cosby (?)

    If you feel that your life hasn’t been complete since Garth Brooks retired from performing a decade or so ago, you may be in luck! The country legend, who has been certified platinum more times than any solo artist in history, has gone Vegas! Garth held a press conference yesterday to announce that he’ll be performing a residency at Steve Wynn’s Encore theatre in Sin City, following in the footsteps of Elvis, Wayne Newton, Celine Dion and countless others. This show will allegedly be unlike the spectacles that were Garth Brooks shows back in his heyday-instead being intimate…or as intimate as you can get in Vegas. Wait, that sounds wrong…Hmmm…I wonder if Chris Gaines will make an appearance.

    Bill Cosby is putting out a rap album. Huh? Confused? Let me slow it down for you. Bill. Cosby. Is. Putting. Out. A. Rap. Album. Well…sort of. “Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnorati: State of Emergency” will be released on 11/24, and while it doesn’t contain The Cos actually rapping, the legendary actor/comedian came up with the ideas for the songs, and the album will feature the talents of, among others, Alicia Keys, LL Cool J and Eric Clapton. Being that Cosby has been extremely critical of hip-hop culture in the past (and I’ll admit that some of it has been justified), it’ll be interesting to see how this comes out.

  • Captain Lou Albano’s Music Tie-In

    As a fan and follower of professional wrestling, I am still in awe of all the mainstream coverage Lou Albano’s passing is receiving. It’s been over twenty years since he’s been seen on television screens as a wrestling character, though people do remember him as the star of the live action part of the Super Mario Bros. show in the 90s.

    As a wrestling manager in the WWF in mid-80s, Captain Lou was more of a cartoon character than anything else. That was probably the point. He was the fat guy with rubber bands all over his face spouting lines about his teams being often imitated but never duplicated. But that wasn’t why he’s currently remembered by so many after his passing. It’s because of Cyndi Lauper.

    In the early to mid 80s, Cyndi was on her way up as one of the first video created music stars. Her first hit single Girls Just Wanna Have Fun featured Albano playing her father in the video. Albano and Lauper met on a flight and were seated next to each other. According to pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, Lauper was entertained by Albano’s wacky stories and asked him to be in the video.

    Their pairing lead to a short relationship between Lauper and the WWF. Lauper appeared on WWF programming including feuding with Albano on the MTV/WWF wrestling event, The Brawl To Settle It All. Lauper challenged Albano, whose character claimed that he was responsible for her success, and her wrestler Wendi Richter beat Albano’s wrestler, the Fabulous Moolah, for the women’s championship. The event helped the WWF move towards a Rock-N-Wrestling theme. Richter was also at the first ever WrestleMania.

    Lauper’s then boyfriend and music producer David Wolff helped produce The Wrestling Album which is exactly what it sounds like. Lauper herself produced Captain Lou’s spoken word track under the name of Mona Flambé. Wolff produced the record with Rick Derringer.

    After his passing, Lauper was quoted as saying that Albano helped her go up the charts “from 10, to 5, to 4 to 1, to minus 5 and back up to 1 again.”

    Here’s the video to Lauper’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: