Good News About Arts & Entertainment:
January - March 2009 Archive
Sponsor Jill Sobule's album, get a spot on it
(Denise Quan, CNN) Asking fans for $75,000 to fund your next record takes a lot of chutzpah. Getting them to meet the goal in 53 days takes a lot of charm. Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule has both in spades. Before Katy Perry topped the charts with her sassy single, "I Kissed a Girl," Sobule scored a Top 20 hit with a song of the same name back in 1995. Since then, she's been on four record labels and has seen some modest success -- mostly recently as a songwriter/ composer for the Nickelodeon series, "Unfabulous."
Graffiti artist teaches students to create mural
(Megan Gordon, Arizona Republic) Wigwam Creek Middle School students have created a different kind of graffiti for the walls of their campus. Working with Such Styles, a Tempe artist, 16 sixth- through eighth-graders used graffiti as a tool to promote school spirit and character. Last week, the students spray-painted the "six pillars of good character" and their mascot, a jaguar, as part of a class project about pop art.
Major artists are making concerts more affordable
(Steve Jones, USA Today) No one knows how the recession will affect concert business this summer, but several major acts are making sure that fans won't have to dig too deep to afford a ticket. The Dave Matthews Band, Keith Urban, U2 and No Doubt already have announced they'll offer some bargain-priced tickets — in the $20-$30 range — for their tours, and it's likely that others will follow suit.
Stars donate autographed umbrellas to help conjoined twins
(Art Thomason, Arizona Republic) All Linda Cobb wanted was a few celebrities to autograph umbrellas. The parasols would be sold to help a Queen Creek family defray mounting medical expenses for their 2 1/2-year-old daughters, Emma and Taylor Bailey, who share a chest cavity, heart and liver as conjoined twins.
Coldplay, Minogue, Midnight Oil rock at Australian fire concerts
(CBC) A parade of music stars, from Coldplay to Kylie Minogue and a reunited Midnight Oil — featuring ex-frontman Peter Garrett, now Australia's environment minister — played to sold-out crowds Saturday night at two charity concerts for victims of Australia's deadly wildfires.
This one's got legs
(Emma Brockes, The Guardian) Eric Carle, the rock star of children's literature, has cobalt-blue eyes, gently accented English, and braces holding up his trousers, which together make him seem like a character from fable; part Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas, part Pinocchio's father, Geppetto. His most famous book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has sold 30 million copies, bringing his total to roughly 88 million, a fact that, in his 80th year, still amazes him.
DMC to host 'Kings of Rap'
(Daniel Carlson, Hollywood Reporter) Darryl "DMC" McDaniels is set to host "The Kings of Rap," a new reality series from IME Entertainment. The series, which is in development, is a positive-themed hip hop competition that will offer aspiring musicians the chance to earn a record deal. The catch is that the artists must create music that anyone can listen to without being offended, and the songs cannot glorify violence, degrade women or use profanity.
YouTube Music Announces Symphony Orchestra Finalists
(Phil Glockner, ReadWriteWeb) Four months and hundreds of recorded submissions after we first reported on the YouTube Global Symphony, over 90 cream-of-the-crop hopefuls have been selected to participate in a classical music summit and grand performance at Carnegie Hall next month. The winners were announced today on the YouTube Blog.
Guitar slinger slides on back
(Ryan Cormier, The News Journal) Before a devastating car accident on New Year’s Day in 2004, music was Ryan “Gooch” Nelson’s life. He was obsessed with Dave Matthews and Ben Harper records and loved playing guitar, bass and drums with friends. So when the fact that he was now a quadriplegic sank in, his thoughts naturally turned to music.
From slums of Mumbai to the Academy Awards
(Beth Harris, AP) The youngest stars of "Slumdog Millionaire" bubbled over with smiles and enthusiasm on the red carpet at the Oscars, and the crowd reflected it all back. Two of the six actors completed their improbable journey from the slums of Mumbai, India, to the world's most dazzling awards show. All of them looked as polished in front of the assembled throng of media as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.