Charlie Gracie What More Could You Ask? By Ronald Sklar Usually, it’s the other way around for Paul McCartney, but in this instance, it was Sir Paul who had always wanted to meet a certain musician who had influenced him in his early years. The year: 2000. Philadelphia native Charlie Gracie, the influence in question, was scheduled … Continue reading
Lesley Gore Out There on Her Own by Ronald Sklar Lesley Gore was scoring monster hits long before the age of Britney, Lindsay and Jessica. Her signature song, “It’s My Party (And I’ll Cry If I Want To)” is one for the ages, enduring longer – and remaining more recognizable and beloved – than any … Continue reading
Mike Papantonio Progressively Speaking by Ronald Sklar Say what you want about lawyers – and you probably do – you can’t accuse attorney Mike Papantonio of selling his soul to the highest bidder. In fact, the only green he cares about is environment-friendly, safe for babies and other beings who will eventually inherit the earth. … Continue reading
Thomas Hine Brings on the Funk by Ronald Sklar The seventies is the decade that gets no respect. And yet, try as we may, we can’t shake its booty. Any repeated attempt at initiating an eighties nostalgia craze is as dead as the recording industry. Even self-conscious VH1 superior-fests that wax nostalgic about the nineties … Continue reading
Julian Schnabel Continues to Dive Into Filmmaking with The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Brad Balfour Director Julian Schnabel comes to filmmaking under odd circumstances. Long before he made his first film, he was a world-class fine artist – the self-proclaimed lion of the New York art world – whose paintings and other works … Continue reading
Ron Livingston Rescues Holly and Finds Something of Himself by Brad Balfour When I first met Ron Livingston, he was a featured personality at the New York Independent Television Fest kicking off his Fox TV show, Standoff (he starred as Matt Flannery, a senior FBI negotiator). He had come to my attention previously through the film The Cooler, but … Continue reading
Jon Bernthal Countdown to Day Zero by Jay S. Jacobs With the ongoing conflict in the Middle East there have been rumblings that eventually the United States may have to reinstate the military draft. The film Day Zero takes this one step further – imagining what will happen after this occurs. Day Zero focuses on three New York-area friends who receive … Continue reading
The Manhattan Transfer 35 Years and Still Swinging By Mark Mussari Where in the musical landscape hasn’t the Manhattan Transfer taken us? From their inception in the mid-1970s as a cabaret act with doo-wop tendencies to their be-bop covers to their daring experiments in jazz and swing, Cheryl Bentyne, Janis Siegel, Alan Paul and founder … Continue reading
OneRepublic Living Their Dreams Out Loud by Jay S. Jacobs You know that you’ve heard it. Topping the charts and all over the radio in recent months there was that mournful voice crooning: “It’s too late to apologize… It’s too late…” The funny thing is, this grand rock ballad came off of the new CD … Continue reading
Emile Hirsch Takes Some Severe Steps Into the Wild by Brad Balfour When youthful 22-year-old actor Emile Hirsch got cast for Into The Wild, it was great career move for him, not just because he got to work with the actor’s actor Sean Penn (in a directorial turn), but also because he was considerably challenged as … Continue reading
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