Good News About Arts & Entertainment:
April 2009 Archive
Ms. Wilson Goes to Washington
(MusicRow.com) This Tuesday (5/5), Columbia Nashville artist Gretchen Wilson will travel to Capitol Hill to hand deliver nearly 10,000 letters from volunteers across the nation to both Tennessee congressmen and senators urging them to increase funding for adult education programs.
Usher lends childhood snapshot to Boys & Girls Club
(AP) Grammy-winning artist Usher credits the Boys & Girls Club of America for making a difference in his life, so the least he could do was lend the group a slightly embarrassing photo of himself as a 7-year-old. "I can only imagine how many accidents are going to happen in result of this being here," the 30-year-old Usher joked Wednesday as he glanced at a new billboard on one of Atlanta's busiest streets. With about 20 kids surrounding him, Usher unveiled the billboard with his likeness as part of a national youth advocacy campaign to raise awareness for the club.
Ben Folds goes back to school
(Shannon Cook, CNN) Ben Folds didn't realize how great his music was until he heard a bunch of college students singing it. The singer-songwriter says he was beyond impressed when he stumbled across videos of university a cappella groups singing covers of his songs on YouTube. "I was really moved," he says. "I thought it was better than what I had done when I first heard it. That's how it struck me because it was so fresh." And so an idea was born: Folds would travel to university campuses around the country and record an entire album of a cappella covers.
Stars give thanks for Hanks
(Donna Freydkin, USA Today) He's been called one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. So, what does the self-effacing and low-key Tom Hanks make of being this year's honoree at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's annual gala tribute? After all, he's following in the footsteps of Alfred Hitchcock, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. "I've run out of superlatives. I'm a fortunate man," Hanks said from the red carpet. "I'm glad (the tribute) is not on TV. We can let our hair down."
Music lovers mark 40 years of Jazz Fest
(Sean Callebs and Jason Morris, CNN) While attending the first Louisiana Heritage Fair in Congo Square 40 years ago, legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and influential jazz artist Duke Ellington spontaneously led a brass band and crowd of second-line revelers on a parade through the festival grounds. The spirit of Jazz Fest was born. Now, the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has evolved into a two-weekend, seven-day party. "We really set out to be an indigenous self-celebration by the culture -- like the world's greatest backyard barbeque -- and to celebrate the tradition of New Orleans," said producer-director Quint Davis, who co-founded the event.
Optimism: That's the ticket for Hugh Jackman
(Scott Bowles, USA Today) Every Friday that he's shooting a movie, Hugh Jackman comes to work with a bag full of lottery tickets. He gives them to everyone who works on his movies: co-stars, camera crews, set hands, the people who cater the food. He doesn't play. Why would he? It's not like the guy needs more good fortune.
Dierks Bentley Records Song With Famed Children's Choir
(Vernell Hackett, TheBoot.com) Dierks Bentley took the opportunity to go in the studio with the African Children's Choir this week while the kids were in Nashville to perform at the Nashville4Africa benefit concert. "I think it was the first time they'd ever been in a studio like Ocean Way," Dierks told The Boot. "We did a song that I've been holding onto for awhile, waiting for the right time to record it. I'm not really working on my next album yet but I'm thinking about it, and I had to get these kids in the studio while they were here."
Nashville Stars Make Music For Africa
(WTVF) Some of Nashville's biggest names came to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center Wednesday to help kids a world away. The music they played will help build schools in Africa. When country artist Big Kenny Alphin took a trip to Africa nearly two years ago, he could have never imagined in 2009 there would be a benefit concert with the African Children's Choir.
Ebertfest: Roger Ebert's Very Own Film Festival
(S. James Snyder, Time) For nearly 45 years, Roger Ebert has remained one of world's most influential film critics. Beginning his career as a 15-year-old sports writer with the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, he joined the staff of the Chicago Sun-Times in 1966 and was named the paper's film critic within six months. His byline has appeared in the paper ever since. In the intervening decades, he has won the Pulitzer Prize and served as the host of a nationally-syndicated weekly TV program, in which he and Gene Siskel would assign films their trademarked thumbs-up, or thumbs-down judgments. In 1999, he also launched the "Overlooked Film Festival" in his hometown of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, featuring films that never received the reception he believes they deserved.
Keith Urban, Faith Hill Help Big Kenny Aid Africa
(Vernell Hackett, TheBoot.com) Keith Urban has signed on to join an already stellar list of performers Wednesday night at the Nashville4Africa concert, organized by Big & Rich's 'Big' Kenny Alphin. Also new on the bill are the Lost Boys of Sudan, the Steeldrivers, Third Day and Jars of Clay. Among the entertainers already announced for the concert are Big Kenny, Faith Hill, Dierks Bentley, Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down, Christian artist Ashley Cleveland and the African Children's Choir. "We have so many artists coming together for this cause," says Big Kenny, who came up with the idea for the benefit, which will take place at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. "We're gonna have everything from bluegrass to rock 'n roll and kids from around the world on the stage."
The Lost Trailers Go Green
(Vernell Hackett, TheBoot.com) The Lost Trailers are doing their part to help the earth and the economy. Members of the group were recently struck by a comment made by a local stage hand when they performed in Uncasville, Ct., and it caused them to re-think how they tour. "We hired local people to help with sound and lights," lead singer Ryder Lee explains to The Boot. "One of the stagehands came up and thanked us for hiring a local crew to work the show. He then told us he hadn't had a paycheck in three weeks, and this was around Christmas. It really hit home with us that sometimes we just don't realize how much a paycheck can mean to someone."
Tribeca Film Fest looks to give New Yorkers a recess from the recession
(Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News) Thanks to the Tribeca Film Festival, the Sundance-ification of New York is in full swing. Tribeca opens its eighth annual, 12-day event Wednesday with the world premiere of Woody Allen’s "Whatever Works." Tickets for all events went on sale to the public Monday. Like Robert Redford’s movie mecca in Park City, Utah, Tribeca is now a mature combo of film devotion, party scene and brand-name buzz that can be condensed into a one-name shorthand.
Looney Tunes
(Don Kaplan, New York Post) The xylophone-playing skunk doesn't stink. He, in fact, delights. Since last fall, the Xylopholks, a guerilla ragtime band that also features a pink gorilla on bass, have been popping up in bars, on subway platforms and inside a slew of bodegas.
School roots for singer Shaheen
(BBC News) A headmaster of a pupil who has become one of the favourites in TV's Britain's Got Talent has said "the whole school will be rooting for him". Shaheen Jafargholi, 12, from Swansea, impressed judges and viewers with his performance in last Saturday's edition of the ITV1 talent series.
Check out Shaheen's performance here
Eastman's quartet-in-residence reunites with cellist who planted the seed
(Anna Reguero, Democrat & Chronicle) 'The good stuff in the string quartet is the music. The interpersonal relationships in a quartet, I guess they're tricky," says cellist Paul Katz, recollecting his time with the Cleveland Quartet. If anyone can spout wisdom about the trials and tribulations of a string quartet, it's Katz. Members of the Cleveland Quartet, considered one of the premiere string quartets around the world, spent 26 years together teaching, traveling and concertizing full-time until disbanding in 1995.
Reality TV star Susan Boyle set for duet with idol Elaine Paige
(Paul Kelbie and, Caroline Davies, The Observer) As global media phenomena go, little could surpass Susan Boyle's stratospheric rise to superstardom. So, what better high note to end an extraordinary week, one that has seen the 47-year-old Scottish singing spinster win plaudits from around the world, than the prospect of a duet with her heroine, Elaine Paige? It was just before her life-changing performance on Britain's Got Talent last Saturday that Boyle revealed her dream: to become a professional singer as successful as Paige - with whom she has sung along countless times, alone, in front of her bedroom mirror, equipped with a hairbrush for a microphone. Now, in a message of support, Paige, the original Evita in London's West End, has punted the idea of the pair singing together.
Scottish singer 'gobsmacked' by overnight stardom
(CNN) The Scottish woman who became an Internet singing sensation after her performance on a British talent show said Friday she doesn't want fame to change her. Susan Boyle, 47, has said she's still the same humble girl next door despite her knockout singing on "Britain's Got Talent." She shocked and inspired the audience, judges, and Web watchers with her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream& from the musical ""Les Misérables" in the first round of the show. "I wouldn't want to change myself too much because that would really make things a bit false," she told CNN's "American Morning" on Friday. "I want to receive people as the real me, a real person."
Barenboim gets ovation in Cairo
(BBC News) In a rare performance by a prominent Israeli musician in Egypt, Daniel Barenboim has received a rapturous reception at the Cairo Opera House. Mr Barenboim conducted the Cairo Symphony Orchestra playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The famed conductor and pianist has long strived to use music to bring people together in the region.
Actor Hugh Jackman's Twitter Cash Pledge
(Sky News) Actor Hugh Jackman has pledged to donate tens of thousands of pounds to charity in a Twitter contest. Users must send a 140-character "tweet" to the actor's profile @RealHughJackman to nominate their cause. The star will give 100,000 Australian dollars - more than £48,000 - to the charity named by the best tweet. Hundreds of recession-hit charities are competing for the money as the economic downturn forces them to think of innovative ways to raise funds.
Jimmy Wayne Sings for Kids
(Vernell Hackett, TheBoot.com) Jimmy Wayne is committed to giving back to the community, especially when it comes to helping underprivileged kids. That's partly because he's been there himself. "The family that took me in when I was 16 turned my life around.
‘Slumdog’ filmmakers give charity $747,500
(AP)The makers of the hit movie "Slumdog Millionaire" have donated $747,500 to a charity devoted to improving the lives of street children in Mumbai, the filmmakers said Thursday. The money will be given to Plan, an international children’s charity that has been working in India since 1979. The aim is to help educate 5,000 slum kids over the next five years.
'Dog' says he doesn't want to forget racial slur
(CNN) It's been more than a year since a racial slur threatened to end the television career of Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman. But the incident still weighs heavily on his mind. A&E briefly suspended his top-rated reality show in late 2007, and his reputation was on the line. Now, with his show back on the air and at the top of the network's ratings list, Chapman insists that he does not want the controversy to be forgotten. "They said, 'It'll pass,' and I said to the guy, 'You know what? I won't let it.' "
YouTube orchestra makes its debut
(BBC News) At least 90 musicians from more than 30 different countries have given their first performance in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra in New York. The video-sharing website held a contest that allowed anyone, anywhere to upload a clip of themselves playing. A selection went to a popular vote. The winners were flown in to play at Carnegie Hall - one of the most prestigious venues in the world.
George Harrison Gets Star On Hollywood Walk of Fame
(Billboard) Hundreds of George Harrison's biggest fans and best friends, including Paul McCartney and Tom Petty, turned out Tuesday to see a posthumous star for the quiet Beatle unveiled during a raucous celebration on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fellow Beatle McCartney stood next to Harrison's widow, Olivia, and son, Dhani, as the star was unveiled in front of the landmark Capitol Records building.
Gibson Sponsors Film Fest and Oprah School
(MusicRow.com) Gibson Guitar has announced its sponsorship of the 2009 Nashville Film Festival. The instrument manufacturer will present a Gibson acoustic guitar — customized with artwork by acclaimed Nashville-based mixed media painter Mandy Lawson — to legendary actor William Shatner.
Flaming Lips Set to Headline Washington, DC Earth Day Festivities
(Rolling Stone) The Flaming Lips will go from spending Christmas on Mars to Earth Day in Washington, DC when they perform a free concert at the city’s National Mall on April 19th. Other bands will take the stage in 10 cities nationwide as part of this year’s Earth Day Network & Green Apple Festival Day.
Susan's Got Talent: Web Video Tops 5m Hits
(Sky News) Fame in the United States is the dream of any British singer - for church worker Susan Boyle it has become a reality. Miss Boyle, 47, has become an internet sensation after appearing on ITV1 show Britain's Got Talent. YouTube videos of her performance have received more than 5m hits in three days after promotion by US web stars.
NASA names treadmill (not space station room) after Stephen Colbert
(Jake Coyle, AP Entertainment Writer) One small step for NASA, one giant running leap for Stephen Colbert. NASA announced Tuesday that it won't name a room in the international space station after the comedian. Instead, it has named a treadmill after him.
Jack Ingram Visits Soldiers in Cuba
(Stephen L. Betts, TheBoot.com) Jack Ingram is back from a four-day, three-show USO tour of a country few Americans get to experience. The singer and band spent time with soldiers stationed at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, performing at several military venues, one of which was an intimate officer's club of sorts, known as the "Goat Locker."
$20,000 for Mini-Golf With Rock Stars Is 'Totally Worth It'
(Lewis Wallace, Wired) Paying $20,000 for a round of miniature golf might seem extravagant, but throw in the opportunity to hang out with a handful of rock stars, and you've got a truly priceless experience. Thomas Mrzyglocki, 19, ponied up that princely sum to buy one of Josh Freese's creative, limited-edition packages built around the drummer's new record, Since 1972, which is available as a download for $7. The deluxe packages all include copies of the record, but that's just the tip of the rock 'n' roll iceberg.
School Of Rock
(Sandra Hughes, CBS News) Paul Green isn't your average teacher. "Don't screw me over here, all right? You're here to make me look good," Green said to his students, smiling. And his students aren't average either, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes. They are musicians - rock musicians.
Concert pays tribute to Marian Anderson
(Natasha T. Metzler, Associated Press Writer) More than 2,000 people gathered Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial for a concert honoring the 70th anniversary of Marian Anderson's historic performance there in 1939. Because of the color of her skin, Anderson was denied the opportunity to perform at nearby Constitution Hall and local high school. So, instead, the African-American opera singer sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in April 1939 to a 75,000-person crowd of blacks and whites standing together.
PBS series tells 300 years of native history
(Carson Walker, AP) PBS starts airing Monday the first of a five-part series covering 300 years of American Indian history - from the arrival of the pilgrims in 1620 to the 1973 standoff at Wounded Knee on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The documentary called &We Shall Remain& was produced by the history show &American Experience.& It shows how native people responded to circumstance as "neither ferocious warriors or hapless victims" and the decisions they made, good and bad, said Sharon Grimberg of WGBH-TV in Boston, executive producer.
Concert deals amid recession
(AP) If you want to sit in the really good seats for a Keith Urban concert this summer, a pair of tickets will put you about back about US$170 (S$257). But in a nod to the tough economic times, the country superstar has also priced some tickets as low as US$20 per seat, so fans won't stay home because they can't afford to go.
Music fans pitch in to design covers, back CDs, map tours
(Brian Mansfield, USA Today) Chris Kubik always dreamed of designing album covers. But as a senior graphic designer for Schumacher Electric Corp., he was more likely to spend his time with battery chargers and jump starters than superstars and electric guitars. So when his girlfriend told him about a contest for Rascal Flatts fans to create the country trio's new album cover, he jumped at the chance.
Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno
(Caitlin Thompson, Time) Despite her Hollywood pedigree, Isabella Rossellini has sought decidedly novel roles. Famous for acting turns in Blue Velvet, Cousins and 30 Rock (where she has played Jack Donaghy's Big Beef and Cheddar-loving ex-wife), Rosellini's latest role has her appearing in homemade costumes—as an expiring bee, an orgasmic snail or an angst-ridden limpet.
Taylor Swift Donates Her Prom Dress
(Stephen L. Betts, TheBoot.com) With the plethora of awards shows and special events she's attended, Taylor Swift has amassed quite a collection of beautiful gowns. There's one dress in particular that the country superstar is ready to part with, and she's giving fans the chance to hang it in their own closet. Taylor has donated the cream and gold Jessica McClintock gown she wore to her high school prom to Hearst Magazines' DonateMyDress.org.
Mayor: Madonna promises $500,000 for quake relief
(Vanessa Gera, Associated Press) The Material Girl is giving something back to the land of her ancestors. Madonna has promised $500,000 to help victims of Italy's devastating earthquake, said Fernando Caparso, mayor of Pacentro, the mountainside village where two of the pop star's grandparents were born. Carparso told The Associated Press on Wednesday that that he had spoken to the pop star's manager and that he was deeply moved by Madonna's effort to assist the town as well as surrounding areas.
Iggy Pop, Ron Wood Sign On For Benefit Concert
(Billboard) Punk rock icon Iggy Pop and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, no strangers to drug and alcohol abuse, will perform at a fundraiser in Los Angeles next month for musicians struggling with their addictions.
A Marriage of Art and iPods
(AP) Milwaukee Art Museum visitors can hear about American furniture from the 18th and 19th century, and music from those periods in the new iPod Touch tour. At The Baltimore Museum of Art, people can stand at a touch-sensitive flat screen for a virtual tour of the apartment and artwork of sisters Claribel and Etta Cone, who assembled a grand collection of pieces from Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh.
Reznor's Innovative Run Continues With Nine Inch Nails iPhone App
(Frank Rose, Wired) Trent Reznor was backstage one afternoon last summer, fooling around with his iPhone to stave off boredom before a show, when he realized that fans standing in line outside were broadcasting photos from the scene using their iPhones. So he took the obvious next step: Using Twinkle, the same Twitter app the fans were using, he started sending out photos from backstage. And so an idea was born.
Big Kenny's Charitable Efforts Span the Globe
(Stephen L. Betts, TheBoot.com) Big & Rich's 'Big' Kenny Alphin is taking a break from music while he recuperates from the neck-fusion surgery he underwent recently. But he's still hard at work in support of numerous charitable causes dear to his heart. Big Kenny's planning a second airlift of educational and medical supplies to the village of Akon in the Sudan. And to help finance the effort, he's organized Nashville4Africa, a fundraising concert with Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Dierks Bentley and others set to perform.
Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr Reunite At New York Benefit
(Jessica Letkemann, Billboard) The David Lynch Foundation's Transcendental Meditation benefit on Saturday (April 4) in New York became a Beatles reunion of sorts as Ringo Starr joined Paul McCartney on stage for the show's three-song finale. The pair's stint onstage together at Radio City Music Hall began with "A Little Help From My Friends" and ended with that sentiment in action as the night's many performers - including Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Donovan, Ben Harper, Moby and the Beach Boys' Mike Love - performed "I Saw Her Standing There" to a standing ovation.
The game's the thing
(Azam Ahmed, Chicago Tribune) A nondescript store becomes a sanctuary for young and old to escape the mundane trappings of everyday life and enter a world of fantasy.
Singer Charley Pride refunds fan in person for online ticket purchase
(CBC) A woman in Leduc, Alta., got a huge surprise Thursday when country music legend Charley Pride showed up at her workplace to give her back the money she paid an online reseller for tickets to his Edmonton show.
Dan Rather still isn't afraid of the big story
(Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle) Dan Rather is 77, still a bit ornery, still curious and still cranking out cutting-edge reporting - even on a network, HDNet, that doesn't have enough viewers to merit a Nielsen rating. After 24 years at "The CBS Evening News," where he was a veritable icon of mainstream media, he's now aiming to "pour some sunlight" on the cozy relationship between major media conglomerates and the nation's most powerful interests. Among his projects: taking on his deep-pocketed former employer.
Deaf actress moves Seattle crowd with message of courage
(Casey McNerthney, Seattle Post-Intelligencer) For some people, the tears came during the story of a deaf girl who hit the big time in Hollywood. Others grabbed for tissues as teachers were thanked for speaking up on behalf of those who can't speak themselves. A few got choked up just seeing Marlee Matlin, the Academy Award-winning actress who was the keynote speaker Wednesday night at the Council for Exceptional Children Convention and Expo.
Buckcherry Gives 'Rescue Me' To Child Abuse PSA
(Gary Graff, Billboard) The book that inspired a pair of songs on Buckcherry's latest album has also led the rockers into activist work against child abuse.
Kennedy Center honors Bill Cosby with Twain Prize
(Reuters) Comedian and actor Bill Cosby is getting another entry to put on his resume -- great American humorist. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday named Cosby the recipient of its prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.