Art, music, film, theatre, literature, photography, salsa dancing, tango, travel, meeting new people and exploring new cultures, cats, wine, chocolate, vintage fashion, the art of the pin-up, history and historic architecture, music, French cooking, figure skating and more.
There's so much happening in Detroit ... Dionne Richardson (CEO of Redline Cinema) and I hit the afterparty sponsored by Ambassador magazine for the Urban Wheels Awards dinner hosted by Vivica Fox and Alex Reymundo. Celebrity guests included Tommy Davidson (Comedian), Kelis (Grammy-nominated hip hop artist), Vickie Winans (Award-winning gospel artist), Tommie Hearns (Former heavyweight champion of the world), Gina Hiraizumi (Actor) and Brian Tee (Actor).Checking in with Matt Hales of the Aqualung ... the Columbia recording artist is currently touring the US in support of their new release "Memory Man."Visit www.myspace.com/brokenmovie for details.Hollywood comes to Detroit ... Sylvester Stallone was at the Star Southfield for the premiere of "Rocky Balboa" and to support his friends at the famous the Kronk Gym in Detroit. Emanuel Steward hosted the event and Thomas Hearns made a cameo appearance to congratulate Stallone.Hollywood comes to Detroit, the sequel ... Will Smith was in town for the premiere of his film "The Pursuit of Happyness". And yes, the former Fresh Prince really did have the Detroit premiere at The (Phoenix) Bellaire Theatre.I recently hosted the "studio seen, take one" party for Silver Media Group. Special thanks to Vadim Yelizarow for these beautiful photos. Visit www.myspace.com/my360image to see more of his work.DENDURA ON ABC TV, WZZM, Channel 13 IN GRAND RAPIDS: What's new with Dendura? Dendura talks about their theme song for a Comedy Central cartoon, their music and their upcoming show with Lennex, the national touring act featuring finalist Phil Ritchie from the CBS show "Rock Star Supernova".In the mid-90s, Caelum Bliss was a fixture in Detroit’s ethereal rock scene. They combined the beauty of a string section (Two violins, cello and harp) with the traditional rock lineup to produce haunting rock tracks and beautiful ballads. They comfortably packed 1,000-person venues like St. Andrew’s Hall and The Majestic.By the late 90s, the band morphed into the electro-pop band Deathgirl.com with the help of producer Dennis White (Charm Farm, Static Revenger, produced tracks for Madonna). The string section disappeared and the band followed the paths of bands like Garbage and Curve. Deathgirl.com was on top of their game. They became a household name in Detroit, their record sold well, they packed venues and the labels were buzzing ... WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW? ... Producer, songwriter and guitarist Tony Hamera created a new project with vocalist Kate Hinote. Ether Aura combines the lush beauty of fuzzy, ethereal rock and lush vocals with the straight-up style of indie rock guitars. The new album is “Before We Could Singâ€. If you didn't catch them on 89X, WRIF/RIFF2, WDET or during their CD release party (They packed the place so tight that the venue had to temporarily suspend beer sales - they ran out of glasses!) catch their live set at The Magic Mag on April 6.Who says there's no film industry in Detroit? Here we are on the set of John Anton's feature "Guns, Drugs and Dirty Money". Karri said that she needed extras for a house party scene and I was happy to help. Looks like quite a party, huh? Actually, the beer bottles are empty.Still not sure if there's a film industry in Detroit? Take two: We always help our friends and work on each other's projects. Now, John, his friends and myself were on the set of "Dirty Trousers", a new feature-length film noir currently in production in Detroit. John and his friends play the mob guys. Watch for the premiere later in the year. In "Dirty Trousers", the year was 1939 and in this scene, we're at a film premiere at the Fox Theatre. For the inside scenes, the women dressed in 30s style ballgowns and the men wore tuxedos, suits and fedora hats. The extras filled the lobby of Detroit's most prestigious theatre and waited for the main characters to make their entrance. For the outside scenes, real Detroit police officers blocked off the street, authentic 30s-era cars parked in front of the main entrance and the searchlights of the Fox Theatre filled the sky with the promise of a glamorous evening. Two real officers on horseback made a cameo appearance in the scene.By the way, there's a film industry in Detroit ... here we are on the set of "Detroit Street Hitters", a feature currently in production with director Lisa Carter. What do Diana Lewis and I have in common? We've both played reporters in feature films ... ok, ok, I know, Diana Lewis was in Rocky. :)Did I mention that there's a film industry in Detroit? Take three: We had a private sneak peak screening for the cast and crew of "The Sleepy Guy", the new short comedy directed by Frank Nemecek for Prince Igor Films in Detroit. The film includes the music of Maverick recording artist MoZella (Los Angeles), award-winning vocalist Mary Abraham (Detroit), Leah Andreone (Los Angeles) and Natalise (Los Angeles).From left to right: Director Frank Nemecek, leading actor Hugh Holesome ("Mr. Holesome"), actor Sonja Ribicki and myself.
Ethereal rock, melodic rock, indie rock, shoegazer, Goth, trip hop, ambient groove, samba, salsa, mambo, old jazz, gypsy jazz, Latin jazz, bal musette, French chanson, classical, Flamenco, tango, Celtic, drum and bass, etc. Some of my favorites are The Verve, The New Pornographers, The Editors, The Decemberists, Lycia, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, The VLA, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Vandelles, Portishead, www.auralgasms.com, Delirium, The Cure, Massive Attack, Tito Puente, Buena Vista Social Club, Gypsy Strings of Detroit, Django Reinhardt, Gotan Project, Georges Brassens, Debussey, Chopin and more.
Who says there are no good films produced in Detroit? I was lucky enough to see "The Death of Michael Smith" before it premieres at the Slamdance Film Festival - it's the first film from Michigan to get into this prestigious festival.
The television lives in the closet.
I'm currently reading "She Came to Stay" by Simone de Beauvoir.
I don't have hereos, but I admire Gordon Parks. He was probably best known for directing "Shaft" in 1971 or his photo essays in Life magazine. But he was more than a director and a photographer. He was also a musician, poet, novelist, journalist and activist. He was so many things to so many people and showed the world that he was a complex artist who needed to move his talents in many directions.