Okay, wow, it's been a while since you've heard from me. Some of you may be thinking, "why don't he write?", others of you may not care, either way I'm here and we're about to get caught up on the past few months.
I'll kick this off with a couple of books that I've read. Admittedly, I've been slacking on the reading front but these two really caught my attention. The first is The Nice Guys by Charles Ardei. Yes, it's an adaptation of the Shane Black and Anthony Bagarozzi script but it seems to make up for some of the faults of the film. What?! Shane Black made a detective movie that's lacking? I hate to speak ill of the maestro but it really kind of felt like a greatest hits compilation. The movie is worth your time but the book is able to go places where time constraints and editing can't take you.
The second book is The Black Badge:Deputy United States Marshal Bass Reeves From Slave to Heroic Lawman by Paul L. Brady. I discovered this gem while doing some research for a different project but, man, this guys life is fascinating. The author is the title characters' great nephew so he has some really interesting insights from family history. If you're looking for something off the beaten path, give it a look.
On the derby front, The Victory Vixens won the Rink of Fire for the second year in a row. The All-Stars have a game coming up later this month when they go to Lincoln, Nebraska for a rematch against The No Coast Derby Girls. The Mad Maxines won the game they played in KC last month so hopefully The All-Stars will win this one. Their record on the road has been a little lacking this season but hopefully they can pull it up and have a decent showing by the end. Plan B, on the other hand, won their first game and have two more in the next two months. Let's hope they can continue their streak.
2016 seems to be the year where death comes off of his holiday. Facebook has earned the nickname Obituarybook. It seems like it all started with Lemmy Kilmister and David Bowie, take out the icons and start whittling away at the rest. If you're in KC, Classic Album Sunday is doing a Bowie tribute show closer to the end of the month. It's the anniversary of The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars and the rest of the show is just all Bowie all the time. Look for it on fb to find times and location.
'16 struck a little closer to home in the last couple of months. Dacia Toll, maybe you knew her as Alice, lost her battle with cancer in March. If you ever made it out to Studio 28 in Olathe in the last ten years, chances are pretty good she pushed the start button on your movie. Tim Warder a.k.a. Coach Ice had a heart attack last month. It happened a week before the Rink of Fire so in his honor we now call the trophy The Tim Warder Cup.
On to cheerier subjects! Marvel Studios put out a new movie, maybe you heard about it, it's called Captain America: Civil War. I really enjoyed it, but I'm slightly biased because I'm a Captain America fan. This is the first movie I've seen twice in the theaters this year. It's not that movies have been exceptionally bad this year, they just haven't grabbed me to the point where I want to see them again.
Order 86 is trudging along through that blissful torture we like to call production. We've finished principle photography and just have a couple of pick up scenes left. Unfortunately, one of them is blowing up a car. You'd think it would be easy to find a place to do that but then you'd be wrong. I'll bet Corman doesn't have these kinds of problems.
Another project I'm involved with is the IX Productions film version of the full length Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare. It's still in production and I record sound when I'm not involved with Order 86. It almost feels like a vacation to be on a set where you're not in charge of everything. I've adopted the mantra Let Go And Let Lolo (Lolo Loren is the director/producer) while I'm on location. If something goes wrong with equipment or there's a problem with talent or a location-Let Go And Let Lolo- and all my problems suddenly condense to just audio. It's kind of liberating sometimes. While we're on IX Productions' sound department, if you're a filmmaker, keep an eye out for Amber Joy. She doesn't have much experience yet but give her another couple of projects and she'll be your go-to girl.
Speaking of other peoples sets, I was in a music video back in March. It's called Republicrat by Shadowsin. At first I was just in a crowd scene but then I was a grip when the director needed somebody to hold a reflector. It was kind of amusing to see non-movie people get excited to take over my job when I needed to get back into the crowd for a continuity shot. My big moment came later when we changed locations and it was supposed to be the next day. The director wanted the crowd to be an angry mob so we were all given things to throw but then he said that he needed somebody to charge "the candidate"s car. "I need somebody angry and physically imposing...oh, you, in the back, come over here please." I'm head and shoulders above the "security agent" so we had to go through how I'd approach the car a few times without looking like a suicide bomber or that I'd plow through the other guy. Eventually, we got it figured out and the rest is on YouTube.
July is an awesome month for live music. This Sunday, Garbage is playing at The Uptown. What are your thoughts on their new album, Strange Little Birds? It took me about three listens to really warm up to it. I had made the mistake of going to the website to find out when the album was coming out and clicked on the video for Even Though Our Love Is Doomed. It just felt like The Discovery Channels greatest hits and, in my opinion, went on far too long. I don't recommend the video, but the album is pretty good if you haven't picked it up yet.
KISS is coming back through town in the middle of the month. They have a new live album coming out in August so it's time to strap on the leather and put on the make up!
It's been about thirty plus years but I'm finally going to see Duran Duran! They come through at the end of the month on their Paper Gods tour. I thought it was about on par with the other albums they've put out in the last decade. It's not something I listen to repeatedly but I don't hate it. That's one of the things I really like about this band is that as long as they've been around, I have never disliked a single or an album. Admittedly, Thank You is my least favorite album but I get why they did it and none of those songs suck, I just think it's a waste of time and effort when a band puts out an entire album of covers. Also, as an added bonus, Chic is opening for Duran Duran. I didn't think those guys were together any more, let alone touring.
One final thing and then I'll be done with you. I know that there are a lot of television watchers out there so I'll let you in on something I found not too long ago. It's called Alcatraz. I'm guessing it played on ABC back in 2012. It deals with a cover up behind the explanation behind the closing of the prison. If you watch the first episode and get into it, stick with it, if it doesn't grab you then forget it.
Well, I think that's all I have for now. I hope you all made it through the holiday with all of your fingers and toes and eyebrows. Stay safe, the world is a crazy place and it's just getting more insane. Hopefully, I'll have a lot more good news to report in the coming month. Until then.
