W♥M

Asian invasion: Pinoy Joy! Filipino heritage musicians taking over music

Read More Beabadoobee The Truman. $20-$25 aka Beatrice Laus, this Filipino/British breakout bedroom-pop artist put out a new EP, Our Extended ....

Read more Asian Invasion

In a mini-musical revolution of sorts, artists of Filipino heritage are enjoying their best year to date, dominating this year’s GRAMMY Awards (as the LA Times had noted in a detailed article here) and are amongst the best-known and popular performers of today.

Dozens of artists of Filipino heritage include Apl.de.ap of Black-Eyed Peas, H.E.R., Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Bruno Mars, Neal McCoy, Olivia Rodrigo, and Toro y Moi (among many many more).

Here are a few others we put in the spotlight:

BEABADOOBEE

https://www.beabadoobee.com

After five previous EPs and a successful debut full-length, aka Beatrice Kristi Laus released her sophomore effort, Beatopia this July, to even greater acclaim. The UK artist was born in Iloilo City, Philippines before moving to London as a small child.

We caught her live this summer as part of the final :( Rock the Garden concert and she starts a mostly sold-out UK/IE Tour Oct 4 in Dublin, before returning to the States for a few shows, including Minneapolis in November. Don’t worry KC fans, Bea plays there in early April 2023 (shhh)!

(Arrive early on those UK/IE dates to catch NYC [London-based] four-piece Pretty Sick, grunge leaning alt-rockers whose debut full-length, Makes Me Sick Makes Me Smile is out 30 Sept on Dirty Hit, and they'll be in the US headlining club shows in Oct/Nov.)

2022 Tour Dates:

OCT 4 Olympia Theatre Dublin, Ireland OCT 5 Ulster Hall Belfast, UK OCT 7 O2 Academy Bristol, UK OCT 8 UEA Norwich, UK OCT 10 Rock City Nottingham, UK OCT 11 NX Newcastle upon Tyne, UK OCT 13 Manchester Academy 2 Manchester, UK OCT 14 Foundry Sheffield, UK OCT 15 Barrowland Ballroom Glasgow, Scotland OCT 17 CHALK Brighton, England OCT 18 Engine Rooms Southampton, UK OCT 19 o2 Academy Brixton London, UK OCT 25 9:30 Club Washington, D.C. OCT 26 9:30 Club Washington, D.C. OCT 28 Brooklyn Steel Brooklyn, NY OCT 29 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA OCT 31 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA NOV 1 Underbelly Jacksonville, FL NOV 2 Jannus Live St.Petersburg, FL NOV 3 The Beacham Orlando, FL NOV 5 Republic NOLA New Orleans, LA

NOV 6 White Oak Music Hall Houston, TX NOV 7 Granada Theater Dallas, TX NOV 8 Emo's Austin Austin, TX NOV 10 Sunshine Theater Albuquerque, NM NOV 11 The Van Buren Phoenix, AZ NOV 12 The Novo Los Angeles, CA NOV 14 The Observatory Santa Ana, CA NOV 15 The Regency Ballroom San Francisco, CA NOV 16 The Regency Ballroom San Francisco, CA NOV 21 The Moore Theatre Seattle, WA NOV 22 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC NOV 23 Roseland Theater Portland, OR NOV 25 The Depot Salt Lake City, UT NOV 26 Summit Music Hall Denver, CO NOV 28 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN NOV 29 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL DEC 1 HISTORY Toronto, ON DEC 2 Club Soda Montreal, QC DEC 3 Empire Live Albany, NY DEC 4 Roadrunner Boston, MA

FANNY

https://fannyrocks.com

Early 70’s legends, Fanny was the first all-female rock band signed to a major record label with a multi-album deal, recording five albums, but never truly breaking through.

The four-piece band was co-founded in the Bay Area by June and Jean Millington, sisters born in the Philippines to a Filipino woman and an American naval officer.

Film Society KC in partnership with Midwest Music Foundation and the Filipino Association of Greater Kansas City on Oct. 5 hosts a live performance at recordBar from Fanny+ featuring June Millington, Brie Howard-Darling, Patti Quatro, and Mia Huggins

Additionally, a Kansas City screening of the documentary Fanny: The Right to Rock will be shown at Screenland Armour on Oct. 4^th with bandmember Q+A following.

More info/tickets:

Fanny+: Live in Concert Tickets, Wed, Oct 5, 2022 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite

 

 

EZ MIL

https://ezmil.com

aka Ezekiel Miller was born and raised in Olongapo City, Philippines and is a rising Filipino American rapper/singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer and is the first Filipino artist to sign a contract with Virgin Music Hollywood | UMG.

Second studio album DU4LI7Y (Duality), was released to wide acclaim, but he was forced to recently cancel his Panalo Homecoming concert in Olongapo City, due to promotor issues.

Latest singles are “Will You” and “27 Bodies” and he was a featured performer at the Filipino-centric London music festival, 1MX this past July.

grentperez

grentperez (komi.io)

The indie DIY soul singer-songwriter grew up as the youngest of three kids in a Filipino family based in Sydney and at 12 years old, posted his first video to his YouTube channel and has been releasing his own music ever since.

His new project, the genre-blurring compilation, Trail Mix Tape (out Sept 30 via Fast Friends) includes recently released single "Ego” and he has shared the bill with K-pop artist Eric Nam, mxmtoon, and more.

Tour Dates

SEP 30 *Adelaide, Australia
OCT 01 *North Fremantle, Australia
OCT 04 supporting mxmtoon Melbourne, Australia
OCT 05 *Sydney, Australia
OCT 06 supporting mxmtoon Sydney, Australia
OCT 08 *Auckland, New Zealand
OCT 09 supporting mxmtoon Newstead, Australia
NOV 01 *Berlin, Germany
NOV 04 *Paris, France
NOV 05 *Amsterdam, Netherlands
NOV 06 *London, United Kingdom
NOV 07 *London, United Kingdom
NOV 14 *Los Angeles, CA
NOV 15 *Los Angeles, CA
NOV 16 *San Francisco, CA
NOV 17 *San Francisco, CA
NOV 19 *Toronto, ON
NOV 21 *New York City, NY
NOV 22 *New York City, NY
Dec 31 - Jan 01 nye in the park Chippendale, Australia

* = i'm cool, i promise World Tour dates

John C ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

We♥Movies: Mr. Nelson On the Northside (Prince documentary advance screening)

Mr. Nelson On the Northside Producer: Dan D’Or, Michael J. Kirk Distributor: Kew Media Synopsis The journey to the top was a challenge for the shy kid from a broken home in North Minneapolis. This is the story never before told. In a mixedrace neighbourhood during the Civil Rights movement, Prince found security, musical opportunities and encouragement at a local community center called ‘The Way’. This influence, coupled with the culture and music of the era, gave Prince his passion for music and performance. In this film, Prince’s mentor Spike Moss explains the origin and influences that shaped Prince’s musical skills. Musical icons such as Chuck D, Macy Gray and Chaka Khan recount never before told stories of Prince and how his unique creative form inspired them. His fans share personal experiences of his social media connections and private performances at Paisley Park. Read More Prince The two big shows on this date will be the Prince Tribute Concert (featuring Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan) at Xcel Energy Center and Sia at Target Center. …

“This is how we funk on the Northside, got to be bold” - Prince, ‘Northside’

Since Prince Rogers Nelson unexpectedly passed away just over three years ago, the veritable floodgates have opened in terms of tributes, books, and documentaries about his fabled life, with even more coming soon.

Of those, none really focuses sharply on his formative early years and life as a mostly shy, sometimes mischievous, and extremely talented kid growing up in North Minneapolis, until now.

Mr. Nelson On the Northside is an in-progress documentary that plants a foot in Prince’s North Minneapolis neighborhood going into detail about the local community center called The Way, that helped nurture and encourage his fast-developing musical talent.

A workprint of the documentary was recently screened for the neighborhood community at a semi-private affair at Minneapolis North High School (FYI, Prince’s alma mater was not North, but the now-demolished Central High School).

It is unusual and somewhat brave for a director to screen a work that is still being finished, but director/producer Michael Kirk (credited as, and on IMDB as Kirk Fera) was both in town to do a few last interviews and very much wanted the neighborhood’s opinion of the as-is film, as one of his main objectives was to give the community a collective voice, regarding their own musical favorite son.

The film as we saw it, ran approximately ninety minutes, is told mostly chronologically with some nicely done supplemental animated bits, and is peppered with interview portions from known celebrities (some more apropo than others) such as Chaka Khan, Macy Gray, Orianthi, Dennis Quaid, Public Enemy MC Chuck D, Doors guitarist Robbie Krieger, and Living Colour ex-bassist Muzz Skillings.

Localy-based interviews were done with author and on-air personality Andrea Swensson, journalist Neal Karlen, local DJ Walter “Q Bear” Banks Jr, and activist and former director of The Way, Harry “Spike” Moss, with Karlen, Banks, and Moss in attendance for the screening.

As Prince’s star rose and he left Minneapolis to tour the world, so the film leaves the area as well, until near the end when it re-connects with the neighborhood and reveals tentative future plans to re-establish The Way, both here and elsewhere.

Khan (who is also their subject for an upcoming documentary herself) has a good amount of screen time, re-telling the story where she was tricked into going to the studio by Prince over the phone, he masquerading as someone else, and Swensson fills in many details of the developing scene locally, as her 2017 book Got to Be Something Here: The Rise of Minneapolis Sound (Univ of MN Press) begins in the year of Prince’s birth, 1958.

The film’s middle wanders a bit and it tries to wrap his arms around Prince’s global success with some of the interview content more germane to its subject than others, but becomes again compelling as things move full circle back into the neighborhood that spawned him with comments from people like Moss and Banks, that reinforce Prince’s overall value as inspiration to his home community.

“This film explores the man behind the hype – never has a film about Prince included the childhood influences in his life that helped create the genius that he was,” says Kirk in a statement, and it mostly achieves this, though would be unfair to fully review it while it is still in progress.

The documentary’s title itself might be a little confusing to the casual fan, as Mr. Nelson refers to the name Prince first wanted to be known as, before first producer Chris Moon explained to him there was already a more famous Mr. Nelson (Willie), and that his birth name was the natural choice to perform as.

The film will insert a few new interviews and undergo a final editing cut, before it is solicited to streaming, cable, and broadcast channels, with hope for wider and multi-country distribution soon.

Mr. Nelson On the Northside gives a much needed voice to the proud community that helped nurture the talent of a musical one-of-a-kind, a neighborhood that has much to say, but is still rarely asked to speak.

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

A Fat Wreck: The punk-u-mentary review

Synopsis A FAT WRECK documents the early history of Fat Wreck Chords, from its founding by Fat Mike and his then-wife Erin Burkett, through its cultural zenith in the late 1990s, focusing on the most successful bands that shaped the label's formative years, including Lagwagon, Propagandhi, No Use for a Name, Good Riddance, and Strung Out. Through the highs and lows, Fat Wreck Chords made a deep cultural impact on the music scene, across 157 studio albums and 150 other releases, somehow managing to stay true to its 100% independent ethos. Screening Dates 11/24 The Exchange - Bristol, UK 11/25 Poppodium Volt - Sittard, NLH 11/25 Hamar kulturhus - Hamar, NOR 11/25 Hyde Park Picture House - Leeds, UK 11/26 Roxy Theatre - Victoria, CAN 11/27 DIY Space for London- Dundee, UK Read More A Fat Wreck You can see Shaun M. Colón’s A Fat Wreck: The Punk-u-mentary documentary about the influential California punk label Fat Wreck Chords (and some of your favorite punk bands: NOFX …

The successfully crowdfunded documentary A Fat Wreck: The Punk-u-mentary will be unleashed upon the world on November 22, 2016. The film was written by Greg Pratt and directed by Shaun M. Colón.

San Francisco-based independent punk record label Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced “Fat Records”) was founded in 1991 by NOFX frontman “Fat Mike” Burkett and his then-girlfriend, now ex-wife Erin Kelly-Burkett. The two have remained friends and still run the label together. Fat Wreck Chords had its heyday in the 90s/early 2000s, but is still going strong even in today’s digital age.

This documentary features interviews with Fat Mike, Erin, a whole slew of bands and other people who have worked with and been influenced by Fat Wreck Chords over the years… including owners of other record labels who admire the way Mike and Erin run the business.

The film is chock full of bands who fondly reminisce about their work (and play) with Fat Wreck Chords. There are segments highlighting the first bands signed to the label: Lagwagon, No Use for a Name, Propagandhi, Good Riddance and Strung Out. Additional interviews and commentary are provided by members of Foo Fighters, Rise Against, Against Me!, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Bad Religion and Get Dead, to name a few.

A Fat Wreck does not contain a lot of lengthy scenes, nor does it contain long and tedious interviews. It takes a more punk rock approach by using short interview segments interspersed with scenes featuring hilarious puppet versions of the interviewees acting out the stories they’re telling. Short snippets of concert footage, still images of the bands and rapid-fire animated transitions are also added to the mix. These quick scene changes are a punk’s dream come true.

The overwhelming consensus among interviewees is that Fat Wreck Chords is like a family. This intimate portrait of the label makes you feel like part of that family.

A Fat Wreck: The Story of Fat Wreck Chords is out on digital and on demand now, November 22nd. Physical Blu-Rays and DVDs will be available December 13, 2016.

dena ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Minneapolis: November 12, 2016

Here are some shows taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area on November 12, 2016.

NOTE: Band Of Horses with Wild Belle will be playing the State Theatre on this date.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide.

Read More Aurora Norwegian Aurora Aksnes, otherwise known simply as Aurora, just released her debut EP Running With The Wolves last week, May 4th via Decca Records. The 18 year-old will be doing a limited …

AURORA
at Cedar Cultural Center
Saturday, 11/12/16, 7pm ($20)
thecedar.org

Norway’s Aurora (aka Aurora Aksnes) is back in Minneapolis, headlining the Cedar Cultural Center this Saturday, November 12th. She previously sold out the 7th Street Entry in April 2016.

Show up early to check out UK solo artist Dan Croll. He’s currently in America to promote his new single ‘Swim’ (which premiered on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 show).

Croll was granted the opportunity to work with the legendary Sir Paul McCartney, and won the National Songwriter of the Year Award from the Musician’s Benevolent Fund. Croll recently signed to Communion Records in the UK.

Tour Dates:

11/11* - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
11/12* - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
11/13* - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom
11/14* - Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar
11/25^ - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
11/27^% - Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theatre
11/28^% - Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theatre
12/02^ - Seattle, WA - Showbox
12/03^ - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre

*w/ Dan Croll ^w/ Foreign Air
%w/ OYSTER KIDS

Read More NOFX A NOFX cover “Linoleum” was also played, but instead of trying to out-punk the Orange County punk band, Fallon’s version is a little more acoustic. …

NOFX
at Cabooze
Saturday, 11/12/16, 8pm ($29)
cabooze.com

The boys are back in town.

NOFX will be making their “First Ditch Effort” appearance at the Cabooze this Saturday, November 12 (with Pears and Useless ID).

Prior to the Cabooze show, you can see Shaun M. Colón’s A Fat Wreck: The Punk-u-mentary documentary about the influential California punk label Fat Wreck Chords (and some of your favorite punk bands: NOFX, Foo Fighters, Bad Religion, Against Me!) at the Sound Unseen Film Festival in St Paul. The film will come to VOD and Blu-ray/DVD on November 22nd via The Orchard and Something Kreative... just in time for the Christmas holiday.

After the show you can try and get into the free NOFX After Party, starting at 11:30pm at the Triple Rock Social Club (walkable from the Cabooze).

Although it’s not a guarantee that NOFX will appear at the Triple Rock, the chances are high that they may show up to hear some Extreme Noise DJ’s playing some classic NOFX songs.

If you are interested in seeing A Fat Wreck: The Punk-u-mentary, here are screening dates:

11/11 Time Community Theater*- Oshkosh, WI
11/12 SOUND UNSEEN FILM FEST - Saint Paul, MN
11/12 Reggie's Tavern* - Wilmington NC
11/17 Marrs Bar* - Worcester, UK
11/18 Neshaminy Creek Brewing* - Croydon, PA
11/19 Mellomveien - Trondheim, NOR
11/20 Soup Kitchen - Manchester, UK
11/21 Enzian Theater - Maitland, FL
11/24 The Exchange - Bristol, UK
11/25 Poppodium Volt - Sittard, NLH
11/25 Hamar kulturhus - Hamar, NOR
11/25 Hyde Park Picture House - Leeds, UK
11/26 Roxy Theatre - Victoria, CAN
11/27 DIY Space for London- Dundee, UK

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

The Image Revolution

About the Documentary In 1992, Marvel Comics was the number-one publisher of comic books in the world, largely due to its dynamic artwork. But as a response to what was believed to be years of mistreatment toward creative talent by the industry’s leading publishers, a small (but influential) group of artists left Marvel Comics at the height of its popularity to form their own company, Image Comics. Led by the outspoken Todd McFarlane (Spawn), this group kicked off a revolution that would change the comics industry forever, instantly granting power to creators and launching Image to "rock star", status. But with great power came great turmoil, as Rob Liefeld (Deadpool), Jim Lee (X-Men), Marc Silvestri (Wolverine), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Whilce Portacio (X-Factor) and Jim Valentino (Guardians Of The Galaxy) almost immediately began to unravel the very bond that united them. Through rare archival footage and brand-new interviews with all seven founders, as well as industry insiders, comics historians and current Image Comics creators like Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), The Image Revolution brilliantly tells the story of the rise, fall and triumphant return of one of the most successful publishers in comic book history. Read More Comic Books I really hate the title Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I can understand it, it tells us that Batman will be fighting Superman... and somehow it involves the Justice League. Based on the first trailer of the film, like so many other fans …

I’ve been collecting comics since 1984 (Crisis on Infinite Earths #1) and have seen the industry change and grow. One of the biggest change to come out of the comic industry was the creation of Image Comics.

The recent documentary The Image Revolution, released by Shout Factory on DVD format (sorry, no Blu-Ray) on January 12, 2016, did a pretty good job summarizing the rise and fall (and rise!) of Image Comics.

In 1992, the magnificent seven (Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino, and Rob Liefeld) formed Image Comics out of frustrations from Marvel Comics’ lack of creator’s rights.

You have to imagine that overnight, Marvel lost basically all their all-star artists. It sent a message and the world waited patiently to see if Image Comics will prevail or fail.

I lived through this, so I was already familiar with their story: each artist had their little “mini” companies within Image. It got to a point that all the artists (with the exception of Erik Larsen) stopped drawing their titles.

Of course, I bought all the books (at least all the #1’s, including Youngblood, Silver Hawk, WildC.A.T.s, Savage Dragon, Spawn, Wetworks, Cyberforce, etc.) and, as a teenager, loved most of the artwork.

You have to remember that prior to Image, all these guys (except, perhaps Jim Valentino?) were selling a ton of comics. I believe X-Men #1 was the best-selling comic of all time (I have to confessed that I bought the first cover and the deluxe fold-out cover)! These artists were all rock stars!

I remember picking up Amazing Spider-Man #298 off the newsstand and was blown away. The same for Jim Lee, which I started buying Uncanny X-Men because of his awesome artwork.

In 1993, I took my brother and sister to the Extreme Studios (Rob Liefeld’s company) signing at Heroes Comics & Cards, across (then) Circuit City, on Blackstone in Fresno, California. The funny thing was that their tour van broke down and we ended up waiting until nearly midnight! The young artists were so pleased to see fans waiting for them, despite the long delay, they were giving us special Extreme Studios Tour Books and happily autographed everything. I still have the books, and it’s definitely a night that we’d never forget.

If you’re a young fan of The Walking Dead (a title that I’m currently buying the collected volumes) and don’t know about Image Comics’ history, you definitely need to watch this The Image Revolution documentary. If you already know the story, it’s still fun to re-visit some of funny rumors and inside story (like how Rob Liefeld got fired or “resigned”).

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Eat that Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words screening at the Arclight, Los Angeles (15 June 2016)

About Eat That Question Thorsten Schütte’s film is a sharply edited and energetic celebration of Frank Zappa through his public persona, allowing us to witness his shifting relationship with audiences. Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into the musician’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended. Read More Frank Zappa By this point, leader Tsuneo Imahori had absorbed so much Frank Zappa that it was practically exuding from his entire body. The liner notes describe a scenario in …

Those who know me know I love all things Zappa, so the premier screening of Eat that Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words on Wednesday night at the Arclight Theater in Los Angeles was like a magical, trippy escapade. The documentary on the musical legend - created by German filmmaker Thorsten Shutte- is composed of archival material from Frank Zappa’s early days of playing bicycle’s on the Steve Allen Show in the 60’s all the way up to his last interview in 1993.  The film is in your face and unapologetic about Frank and the (seemingly) obscene brilliance he carried on throughout his career (much like Zappa himself), and highlights many controversial hits he took by making the music he made and doing the thing that came as naturally to him as “using the toilet”: Create and Keep Creating.

Many music docs are filled with friends and family talking about who the artist was (or who they thought they were), complete with the dubbed-over voice of the musician in slow motion living out his personal life or shying away from the camera. Shutte has made sure that it’s Zappa talking Zappa...in that it stays true to his own opinion on himself, along with a  pretty spot on look at the collection of his music.

And the film doesn’t have to try to sway you to be into Zappa. You just are.

Because Frank has the kind of integrity most artists claim they have...but a lot end up selling out in some way or another along the way. Frank’s intelligence and humor shine in his interviews, even if it seems like the public is questioning his motives or his bizarre music that a lot of people just straight-up didn’t get. It’s extremely difficult to keep yourself from being totally enamored by this male enigma. Whether he’s heading to Prague to greet his adoring fans or performing the obscene ‘Bobby Brown’, his genuine tenacity and zest for life shines through to the audience.

Moon Zappa ended the night with us, along with the director, answering questions about her dad. She was candid about her father, and although adoring, joked about “wanting to engage with him” more.

Eat That Question is continuing to open nationwide and will be in a number of film festivals this summer.

Thorsten Shutte with Moon Zappa at Arclight, Los Angeles (15 June 2016)

jess ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?

Read More Comic Books Having said all that, and excuse me if you think I do not understand the digital age (because I will agree with you), but selling a digital collection of Crisis for $19.99 is way, way too much. …

I finally got around to watching Jon Schnepp's The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? documentary on what happened to the film "Superman Lives". The doomed film would have been directed by Tim Burton and starred Nicolas Cage.

The documentary cover the three scripts and treatments, showing some evolution of the story... from Doomsday to Brainiac to a Giant Spider. In addition to seeing all lost pre-production artwork and concept artworks, Schnepp also took the extra step of trying to re-create some scenes from the script with actors. This recreations really made the documentary work for me, as sometime it's boring to just watch creators sit and just talk.

The first part of the documentary examined the first draft(s) by Kevin Smith. Smith's point of view was that it was all producer Jon Peters' fault. According to Smith, Peters had three criteria: (1) no flying, (2) no costumes, and (3) he had to fight a giant spider. Peters, from his view, said that Smith was basically an amateur writer whose script lacked structure and excitement.

Wesley Strick's script was light-hearted, and Burton felt it was not in a direction he wanted and the third script went to Dan Gilroy. Schnepp talked to all three writers, but I felt the real highlight was the costume designer Colleen Atwood. I am assuming she provided much of the amazing footage of the test costume fitting. Also various concept artists were all pretty amazing, from Mobius-esque artist Sylvain Despretz to Derek Thompson to Jim Carson.

With all the concept artworks and pre-production work (including the costume fitting and various sculptures) that went into creating Superman Lives, it was hard to believe that the film was never realized.

Drawing my own conclusion, I felt everyone in the documentary blamed producer Jon Peters. The way he's painted, he just didn't understand Superman or his comic book origins. Although not spoken out loud, all the creators had a slight resentment towards Peters, who is described as "loud" and conflictive.

Ultimately the studio, Warner Brothers, was the blame. They pulled the plug in the final hours (three weeks before filming), because most of the funds were going to Wild Wild West. Some of the ideas for Superman Lives (particularly the Brainiac Spider) was used in the Will Smith film.

Although, as expected, Schnepp did not have access to actor Nicolas Cage, but surprisingly he was granted an interview with Tim Burton. While I felt Burton's commentary was underused in the documentary (and they really overuse Kevin Smith, who, let's be honest, had very little to do with the rest of the film), it was still very impressive that Schnepp got Burton at all!

Personally, I would have love to hear Cage's point of view on the disaster of Superman Lives. Maybe hear him nerd out, since we know Cage love comic books, having taken his name from Luke Cage, owning an impressive comic book collection (including Action Comics #1, before it was stolen), created/wrote the comic book Voodoo Child, and starred as Ghost Rider.

Artwork by Nick Runge

Some off topic: While I think it's clever as The Death of "Superman Lives", I don't like the extra "What Happened?" added to the title. I also really dislike the special edition cover artwork with a ball bursting through a wall with random photos (and that spider!). Sure, it's extra bits and nods to the hardcore fans, but the "regular edition" artwork of Schnepp resurrecting Nicolas Cage is just a better cover artwork. Perhaps they could have also included the regular cover, also by artist Nick Runge, as a reversible option.

The Bluray/DVD had plenty of special features (Director's commentary), deleted scenes, and full interviews with Grant Morrison, Kevin Smith, etc. I have not had a chance to check out all the featurettes, and to be honest, I probably won't ever watch them... However, I really appreciate the work put into making these special features for the fans. The eight hour plus features can be purchased as a bundle for $16.99. The feature is available for purchase now at tdoslwh.com.

The Death of "Superman Lives": Colleen Atwood, Nicolas Cage and Tim Burton

PS During his interview, Jon Peters took a minute to take a phone call and the whole one-sided phone conversation was kept in the documentary. I'm not sure why Schnepp left this in (personally, I would have edited this out), but perhaps it was to show you that Peters was the "Hollywood-type" always talking on the phone and making things happen... UPDATE: According to the commentary, Schnepp wanted to show that Peters was always working. Plus it served as a nice break. I still stand behind that it was totally unnecessary and should have been taken out.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

These Animal Men and S*M*A*S*H at Heaven, London (11 Sep 2015)

poster These Animal Men Setlist Sharp Kid Who's the Daddy Now? Empire Building Ambulance You're Always Right Riverboat Captain Light Emitting Electrical Wave Soul Around the World (This is the) Sound of the Youth Life Support Machine (You're Not My) Babylon Speeed King April 7th Too Sussed Read More S*M*A*S*H Just a quick note on that S*M*A*S*H / NxtGen Split Single Launch, taking place 29 March 2014 at The Portland Arms in Cambridge. As I suspected, the lyrics …

S*M*A*S*H photo: Jeff Pitcher

Two of the most popular New Wave of New Wave punk bands These Animal Men and S*M*A*S*H recently played at Heaven in London on September 11th. This is TAM's first show in twenty years!

Wish we could have flown to London to see the show.

For more information, check out my interview with Ed from January 2015 and follow the band on FB and for archival purposes, see smash.weheartmusic.com.

Photographs courtesy of Jeff Pitcher.

Here is how they described the Flawed Is Beautiful documentary:

Flawed Is Beautiful is a film about two bands - These Animal Men and S*M*A*S*H - who formed a scene swiftly dubbed by the press as the New Wave Of New Wave - the magnesium flash that, for better or worse, lit the way for Britpop.

Flawed Is Beautiful is also a story of media complicity and career hari kiri. It is about bold ideas, insatiable appetites and international travel. Cheap drugs and pre-destined failure. It is also about the British music industry spinning towards its final years of economic excess and Thatcher’s children biting back. It is about tight T-shirts, eyeliner and what happens when your fifteen minutes of fame runs out. It is a cautionary tale from which no-one learned any lessons.

Like all the best music documentaries, Flawed Is Beautiful is about heroic failure. These Animal Men and S*M*A*S*H didn't have the right accents or connections. But they had the belief and they looked fantastic. They took their moment and made the most of it. And they changed people's lives in small towns out in the provinces, where the big bands didn't ever come to town and where their songs of aspiration and indulgence (TAM) and smalltown rage (S*M*A*S*H) inspired a whole generation of kids.

People always say about the Velvet Underground that everyone who saw them went on to start a band. In the case of These Animal Men and S*M*A*S*H that might actually be true.....

If you live in Manchester, head over to the FabCafe at 2:30pm to see the film on September 19th.

These Animal Men at Heaven, London (11 September 2015) photo: Jeff Pitcher

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Movie review: Amy

Synopsis From BAFTA award-winning director Asif Kapadia (SENNA), AMY tells the incredible story of six-time Grammy winner Amy Winehouse—in her own words. Featuring extensive unseen archive footage and previously unheard tracks, this strikingly modern, moving and vital film shines a light on the world we live in, in a way that very few can. A once-in-a-generation talent, Amy Winehouse was a musician that captured the world’s attention. A pure jazz artist in the most authentic sense—she wrote and sung from the heart using her musical gifts to analyse her own problems. The combination of her raw honesty and supreme talent resulted in some of the most unique and adored songs of the modern era. Her huge success, however, resulted in relentless and invasive media attention which, coupled with Amy’s troubled relationships and precarious lifestyle, saw her life tragically begin to unravel. Amy Winehouse died from alcohol poisoning in July 2011 at the age of 27. Director: Asif Kapadia Genre: Documentary Run Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Read More Amy Winehouse Did you miss the Amy free movie screening at the Walker Art Center on July 2nd? Here is your second chance to score a pair of free passes for July 7th, courtesy of 89.3 The Current. The film opens on July 10th. …

Gone too soon—

That sentiment can unfortunately apply to so many rock icons, and so many were gone at age 27, including Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones and more recently, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse. A new documentary about Winehouse, called Amy has just been released, compelling but is not without its share of controversy.

The film has us from its opening credits- a group of friends are gathered for a party in 1998 and each teen sings along to ‘Happy Birthday’, only to have a 14-year old Amy Winehouse finish the song solo with such aplomb and obvious talent, that it seems obvious from that clip, that she would go on to greater things.

Filmmaker Asif Kapadia previously helmed an equally tragic story of race car driver Aryton Senna and developed a reputation of providing an unflinching look at his subjects.  Initially, the project had complete support from the Winehouse family and friends, only to view the finished work, and have many disown the film, including Winehouse’s estranged father, Mitch.

Most of the film is culled from private home video footage, TV clips, and press filming, with most of the interviews done in voiceover over the clips, rather than in a face-to-face setting.  Because of this, much of what’s on screen is raw and often shaky, so a close seat in the theater is not recommended.

Winehouse fans will be drawn to the footage itself, much of which is previously unseen, as well as the unheard music scattered throughout the film, while even casual fans will find many of the clips interesting viewing.  Musical footage includes the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in 2000, recording her breakthrough second album, Back to Black, with producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, and a duet with Tony Bennett for his album, as well as her Grammy wins in 2008.

Hindsight may be 20/20, but it seems obvious when Winehouse goes from the highest of musical heights, to get caught up with bad people such as ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, the introduction of lethal drugs, and facing her own self-harm and bulimia, that this will not end well.

One aspect that is revealed about the early Winehouse is her obvious love with jazz legends, modeling her vocal delivery after greats Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, which is much more evidenced in her first album, Frank.  If she had stayed the jazz chanteuse she started out to be, she might still be alive, playing clubs today.

While the first two-thirds of the film can be watched with a fly-on-the-wall fascination; the last third is a tougher view, chronicling the singer’s descent- in and out of treatment, publicly embarrassing situations, and the infamous last performance in Belgrade, Serbia where a near-incoherent Winehouse freezes, stumbles around, and is booed. Even her father near the end was cashing in on her celebrity, bringing a complete film crew with him as he visited her in the Caribbean.

Despite her father and a few others' misgivings about their portrayals, the film opened to a box office record in the UK as the highest grossing documentary, with a high per-screen average here in the States as well.

This is required viewing for any Amy Winehouse fan simply because of the footage and unheard music, and anyone with a casual interest will find her story intriguing, complicated, and ultimately heartbreaking.

Amy is in theaters nationwide currently.

W♥M movie grade- "B+"

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Weekend Soundtracks

Read More Mates of State Mates of State and Free Energy stopped by Minneapolis for a solid two-show performance at the 400 Bar on June 23rd and 24th. Strangely, before any of the band played, they had a stand-up comedian. ...

THE RUMPERBUTTS
matesofstate.com

We're pretty excited to see Mates of State (Kori Gardner & Jason Hammel) again when they come to the Twin Cities this July 1st at the Turf Club.

Recently the musical duo starred in a new comedy film "The Rumperbutts", about a financially struggling married indie band duo who regretfully take a job on a children's show called "The Rumperbutts."

The film was written and directed by Marc Brener and is his first feature, which he began to write just after the success of his short film "Say It Ain't Solo" (Best of Fest and Best Direction 2012 LA Comedy Festival).

Check out the trailer at YouTube

Mates of State's latest album You're Going To Make It is out now on Barsuk Records / Fierce Panda Records.

Tour Dates:

06.22.2015 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
06.23.2015 - Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop
06.24.2015 - Covington, KY @ Madison Live
06.25.2015 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Hi-Fi
06.26.2015 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
06.27.2015 - St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
06.28.2015 - Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
07.01.2015 - St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
07.02.2015 - Omaha, NE @ Reverb
07.03.2015 - Kansas City, MO @ recordBar
07.05.2015 - Memphis, TN @ 1884 Lounge
07.06.2015 - Nashville, TN @ The High Watt
07.07.2015 - Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
07.08.2015 - Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll
07.09.2015 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
07.10.2015 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

Read More DJ Shadow DJ Shadow (Josh Davis) is a mixer and turntable artist out in Davis, California. Somehow...

RENEGADES
djshadow.com

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist will be holding their world premiere screening of "Renegades" tour film in Los Angeles next Friday, June 26th. Following the screening will be a special Q&A session with both DJs.

Look for the limited edition VHS tape, available at the show. Advance tickets are $10. You know we'd be there if we lived in Los Angeles....

Details:

DJ SHADOW & CUT CHEMIST
Announce Premiere Screening and Q&A:
'Renegades' Tour Film
Friday, June 26, 9:30pm
Los Angeles, CA

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist are debuting the movie version of their ‘Renegades Of Rhythm’ live show honoring Afrika Bambaataa, filmed in Oakland last November. The screening will take place at the Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St. in Los Angeles, California on Friday the 26th of June at 9:30pm. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow. Additionally, guests may choose to purchase a limited edition VHS tape of the movie, which will be on sale at the venue. Advance tickets for the screening are $10 in advance.

Read More Drive What I didn't know at the time was that the movie is directed by one of my favorite (new) director, Nicolas Refn, who did one of my favorite film a few years ago called Valhalla Rising....

ROBOCOP
milanrecords.com

You can count me as a big fan of director Nicolas Winding Refn, having randomly enjoyed his "Pusher" trilogy and was blown away by his brutal Viking film "Valhalla Rising" and absolutely loved "Drive".

While I would love to see more Refn films... I guess his latest attention is on re-mastering and re-releasing cult film soundtracks.

His third installment is a special edition vinyl release of the score to Paul Verhoeven's 1987 film "Robocop", following "Oldboy" and "It Follows".

Set for release this July 17th on Milan Records.

Details:

Robocop features an amazing score by Basil Poledouris (Conan The Barbarian, The Hunt for Red October) that was remastered for vinyl at Warner Studios from the original tapes. 2xLP features two 180 gm silver colored vinyl in a double tip-on jacket on metallic/silver stock, with original LP artwork by Jay Shaw. Out 7/17/15.

ADAM SWANSON'S SPIRIT MOUNTAIN MURAL
nicholassunsdahl.com

Duluth filmmaker Nicholas Sunsdahl second film is called "Adam Swanson's Spirit Mountain Mural", an observational documentary about artist Adam Swanson and a mural Swanson painted for the city of Duluth. The mural has been erected in the new chalet at Spirit Mountain.

Here's what the Duluth News-Tribune wrote, "It’s uncommon to get this kind of up-close-and-personal with an artist at work. You get to see Swanson’s mind whirl as he considers the color orange and as he climbs around on his panels, brush in hand, you understand better the scale of the project."

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com