Friday, May 30, 2014

Jeff Dahlin From Hot Rod Magazine Returns With More Power

Chevrolet Performance Presents the 20th Anniversary HOT ROD Magazine Power Tour® Driven by Continental Tire Widely considered to be the finest high-end automotive tour in the world, The HOT ROD Magazine Power Tour® embodies everything that HOT ROD Magazine has represented for over 65 years. This seven-day, seven-city tour will travel over 1,500 miles thru 7 states kicking off in Concord, NC and traveling to Wisconsin Dells, WI. The event will attract over 4,500 cars, grab the attention of over 75,000 spectators, travel over 50 of the nation’s premiere automotive and aftermarket manufacturers and generate a nationwide buzz in the automotive enthusiast market. All makes and models of hot rods, street rods, custom trucks and street machines will be along for the ride. The HOT ROD Magazine Power Tour® is the ultimate Hot Rodding Journey and has gathered car enthusiasts from all over the world to sightsee, explore and show off their custom car creations in car crazy towns all over the U.S. for 20 years. Throughout the seven days, Hot Rod owners will be able to pick up and take off from any city following fellow car enthusiasts to the final destination in the Wisconsin Dells. Those who travel from the start to the finish of the Tour are termed “Long Haulers™” and they wear this title as a special badge of honor. SPECTATORS ARE FREE!

Kevin And Steve Broken Lizard

There comes a time. When everything you think you know. Has to meet in the center of pre-beer. Before the chug. Before the spewing of white foam. The kicking back to guarantee your clothing that nothings coming back up. You gotta sit and do what we did growing up on a Montana ranch. You gotta bullshit. The art of bullshitting is decades before social networking. It's better than breaking bread. It's nothing more than giving each other shit and tossing in a Ford pickup full of bull.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Eileen Finan People Country

Who will be on the 2014People Country list of Sexiest Men of Country? Blake Shelton? Dierks Bentley? The guys from Florida Georgia Line? Jake Owen? Kenny Chesney? All will be revealed this week when this special issue of People Country hits newsstands this week, and you'll have a chance to talk about who made it and who didn't with Eileen Finan of People Country this Thursday morning. Reserve your slot today!

Harvey Kubernick Turn Up The Radio

Combining oral and illustrated history with a connective narrative, Turn Up the Radio! captures the zeitgeist of the Los Angeles rock and pop music world between the years of 1956 and 1972. Featuring hundreds of rare and previously unpublished photographs and images of memorabilia, this collection highlights dozens of iconic bands and musicians, including the Doors, the Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, CSN, the Monkees, the Rolling Stones, Ike and Tina Turner, Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Ritchie Valens, Sam Cooke, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Thee Midniters, Barry White, Sonny and Cher, and many others. But recording artists heard on the AM and FM dial are only one part of the rich history of music in Los Angeles. Turn Up the Radio! digs deep to uncover the studio musicians, background vocalists, songwriters, producers, and engineers who helped propel the Los Angeles rock and pop music scene to such a legendary status. Bones Howe, Barney Kessel, Hal Blaine, B. J. Baker, Merry Clayton, Jack Nitzsche, Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Jim Keltner, Bobby Womack, Kim Fowley, Bruce Botnick, Dave Gold, and Stan Ross are just a few of the names recognized for their crucial contributions to the music created and produced in the recording studios of Los Angeles. Finally, Turn Up the Radio! pays tribute to the DJs who brought the music of Los Angeles to fans throughout Southern California—and, ultimately, the world—including Art Laboe, Dave Hull, Robert W. Morgan, the Real Don Steele, Jim Ladd, Dave Diamond, Elliot Mintz, and Dick Clark. Their dedication to the music they played at such iconic radio stations as KHJ, KFWB, KRLA, KMET, and KLOS was critical to the development of popular music. Packed with exclusive interviews, this one-of-a-kind keepsake of rock, pop, and roll in the City of Angels is a must-have for any music fan. ABOUT HARVEY KUBERNIK Harvey Kubernik, a native of Los Angeles, California, has been a noted music journalist for over forty years. A former West Coast A&R director for MCA Records, Kubernik is the author of five books, including This Is Rebel Music, A Perfect Haze: The Illustrated History of the Monterey International Pop Festival (co-authored by Kenneth Kubernik), and Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Greg Iles Natchez Burning

#1 New York Times bestselling author Greg Iles has earned outstanding critical praise and a legion of fans for his novels including The Quiet Game, Turning Angel, and Devil’s Punchbowl. Iles has shown he has incredible range is his ability to craft exceptional suspense novels featuring compelling, multidimensional characterization. Now, in the literary publishing event of the summer, Iles presents his most ambitious and powerful work to date with NATCHEZ BURNING (William Morrow/An Imprint of Harper CollinsPublishers; Pub date: April 29, 2014, ISBN 978-0-06-231107-8; $27.99 US/$34.99 Canada), the auspicious first volume in a trilogy featuring Penn Cage. A spectacular and grand epic novel that spans 40 years and unflinchingly captures the political unrest of a nation dangling between a chaotic past and an unpredictable future. The historic town of Natchez, Mississippi, is the backdrop for this remarkable thriller, a place inextricably bound to our national identity. It is a place where fiercely held convictions about race have undergone enormous change at great cost to human life over the last decades. As a former prosecutor and writer living in the small town of Natchez, Mississippi, where he grew up, Penn Cage has always been a fighter. He’s never been one to see injustice and do nothing about it. He learned it from his father, Tom Cage, a beloved family doctor who spent decades taking care of folks no matter their origin or circumstance, rich or poor, black or white. Penn has always thought of his dad as a sort of Atticus Finch, a man who has guts and backbone even when his friends and neighbors don’t. And the old adage couldn’t be more true: ‘Like father, like son’. Or is it? In a place like rural Mississippi, when the issues are race and crime, the pressures are formidable and the risks no less life-threatening. So when Tom Cage finds himself on the verge of being charged with murder—of his long-time nurse assistant and friend Viola Turner—Penn knows he must find the truth. The catch: his father believes client privilege forbids him from talking about the night in question and so refuses to say anything to help himself or Penn. Penn soon learns that Viola’s death is only the tip of the iceberg—for it brings into question several horrific, unsolved murders in the 1960s, one of which was her brother’s. And it points to a group of secretive KKK members who call themselves the ‘Double Eagles’, a crew that has cut a swath across the area for decades and includes some of the wealthiest and most ruthless businessmen in the state, and brothers Frank and Snake Knox, men who have been born and bred to always get their way. Until now. About the author: Greg Iles was born in Germany in 1960, where his father ran the US Embassy Medical Clinic during the height of the Cold War. Iles spent his youth in Natchez, Mississippi, and graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1983. After several years playing in the band “Frankly Scarlet,” Iles wrote his first novel in 1993, Spandau Phoenix, which became the first of twelve New York Times bestsellers. With his third novel, Mortal Fear, Iles began setting his novels in Mississippi, and in The Quiet Game, his fourth, he created Penn Cage and placed him in Iles’s own hometown of Natchez, the oldest city on the Mississippi River. In 2011, Greg sustained life-threatening injuries in an automobile accident on Highway 61 near Natchez. He remained in a medically-induced coma for eight days and ultimately lost part of his right leg. Doctors declared his survival miraculous and predicted a long recovery, yet early in his rehabilitation, Greg found comfort and motivation by re-entering the world of the character, the town, and the secrets that his fans loved most. The road into these novels proved to be the road back to life. Iles is a member of the lit-rock group “The Rock Bottom Remainders” that includes authors Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Stephen King, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, Roy Blount, Jr., Matt Groening, Kathi Kamen Goldmark*, James McBride and Roger McGuinn. Iles lives in Natchez, Mississippi, and has two teenaged children. His novels have been made into films, translated into more than twenty languages, and published in more than thirty-five countries worldwide.

Joshua Scott Jones The Healing

Joshua Scott Jones Set to Release Debut Solo Album, The Healing, Exclusive Interview with PEOPLE Country Magazine On Stands Now NASHVILLE, Tenn. –- Joshua Scott Jones, best known as one half of the country duo Steel Magnolia, will release his debut solo album, The Healing, on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. The 11-track project is a collection of songs, which candidly retells the singer’s personal struggles and emotional journey over the last couple of years. Each track exposes the raw emotions he experienced since he started working on his solo material last year. "This has been a long time coming for me," he said. "I feel like it’s really a chance for my voice to be heard." Jones opened up about his struggles with addiction and how the recording of The Healing was instrumental in his recovery exclusively to PEOPLE Magazine. Jones felt it was time to publicly tell his story for the first time, explaining, "I feel like at this point in my life I don't want to be anything but candid. This record certainly reflects my headspace over the last few years and tells the story of what I've gone through, especially the title track of the record, 'The Healing.' Although I've been near the top before in my career, I'm looking forward to experiencing it all again; this time clean, clear and healthy." The Healing kicks off with the catchy male anthem, "Honk (If You're Tonky)," a fun introduction for the tracks that follow including the groove-infused "Tennessee Blue," the candid throwback "Lover Let Me Show You My Heart," and the carefree “Whiskey Anthem.” On many of the tracks found on The Healing, Jones opens up and tells a story that begs to be heard. One notable track, “Just How A Heart Breaks,” was written on the piano at Cumberland Heights in Nashville, Tennessee where Jones completed his 30-day stay in rehab. The album closes with the title track that is powerful and raw with honest lyrics that cut straight through your heart (that spark in our eyes/ that God was revealing/ may the hurt that we're feeling / lead to the healing.) In anticipation of the release, fans can pre-order The Healing on iTunes and receive instant downloads of "Honk (If You're Tonky)," "Tennessee House," and "The Healing." A free download of the title track, "The Healing," is available by picking up the current issue of PEOPLE Country on newsstands now. For more information on Joshua Scott Jones: http://www.joshuascottjones.com

Col Ray L'Heurex Inside Marine One

INSIDE MARINE ONE :Four U.S. Presidents, One Proud Marine, and the World’s Most Amazing Helicopter Col. Ray "Frenchy" L’Heureux, USMC (Ret.) was in love with flying since he was a little boy. He built model planes and spent idle time daydreaming about someday flying his own. When he was twelve he received the most amazing gift he could have ever hoped for: flying lessons in a Cessna at the local airfield. When he was allowed to take over the controls for a brief period of the training session he was hooked for life. From that first moment controlling a plane, L’Heureux never could have dreamed that one day he would be flying Presidents and world leaders. In his exhilarating and joyful memoir, INSIDE MARINE ONE: Four U.S. Presidents, One Proud Marine, and the World’s Most Amazing Helicopter (St. Martin’s Press, on sale 5/27/14), L’Heureux recounts his rise through the ranks of the Marines to control the most amazing helicopter there is. From Parris Island to Bravo Company, and then officer training, L’Heureux’s career was moving along a fine path in the Marines. One day it all changed when he was at an airfield as President Reagan landed on his way to a fundraiser. L’Heureux took one look at those incredible helicopters – a Sea King and a White Hawk – and he knew full-on what he wanted his career arc to be. L’Heureux studied and worked extremely hard to make it in HMX1 (Marine Helicopter Squadron One), the squadron that flies the president. All the arduous training paid off when he finally earned his place with this elite group and took command. INSIDE MARINE ONE recounts wonderful stories by L’Heureux of flying Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and numerous other dignitaries and world leaders,including Pope John Paul II. From playing “wollyball” with President George H.W. Bush, hiking with the Pope, and mountain biking with President George W. Bush, L’Heureux saw a side of these great men and leaders few of us ever do. By piloting these world leaders L’Heureux also experienced history up close.+ INSIDE MARINE ONE is a personal guided tour of the world’s most famous helicopter by the one man who knows that flying machine better than anyone else. This is a great American success story of a young boy who dreamed big, worked hard and finally flew, taking 4 presidents of the United States along for the ride. Col. Ray “Frenchy” L’Heureux joined the U.S. Marine Corp in 1980. In 1991, he joined HMX1, flying Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. In 2006, he became Commanding Officer flying Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He retired in 2011 and lives in Hawaii.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Foreigner's Jeff Pilson

Wolfman Jack wrote in his autobiography that Elvis Presley jokingly but bitterly was always bothered by Radio's stage. Although both sides of the music industry performed. The fact that radio people get to do it every night without having to travel from city to city was Elvis' struggle with the on-air talent. What listeners don't realize is the sacrifice radio people make to be the jock. The memories based on a favorite song aren't like those who have chosen to listen. So many times the only connection we have to a favorite band...is a telephone conversation. And its through those connections that we're able to share the journey via the speakers. Knowing that your passion for the band is every reason you should continue supporting their art and reasons for sharing it. Unplugged and Totally Uncut with Jeff Pilson of Foreigner The band's latest CD, a three-disc set entitled Feels Like the First Time, features two CDs (one contains acoustic versions of the hits and the other CD contains newly recorded studio versions of the hits), was released on Razor & Tie Records. Feels Like the First Time debuted in the Billboard Top 200 chart at #43, selling over 10,000 units. Foreigner, Styx & Don Felder; the 2014 Soundtrack of Summer Tour:

Friday, May 23, 2014

Damon Wayans

One of comedy's most funniest. One of televisions most daring. Now a digital genius whose total focus is still locked on entertaining. Flick DAT: https://www.facebook.com/FlickDatApp https://twitter.com/FlickDAT Short: Flick Dat allows you to create and access your business cards from anywhere on most Android and iOS devices. Create cool 30 seconds intro videos on your cards, company logos, and share with coworkers. Have your cool business cards at your fingertips. In the fast paced world of business, Flick Dat makes it easy to get work done and stay connected with your team while on the go. Long: Flick DAT is an exciting new way to create and share cool business cards and stay connected with business associates and friends. Send and receive amazing business cards from virtually any Android and iOS devise. With a simple “flick” gesture watch as your flicks magically fly off the screen of your device and slide into the receiver’s device.Send flicks over WiFi and Bluetooth. Via Flick Dat Online (to anyone in the world), by email, or even to your favorite social networks! Supporting Android and iOS devices, flicking is easy, fast, and fun.Get rid of that drawer full of business cards by scanning and importing the information into customized Flick Dat cards. With Flick Dat, all your contact information is just a flick away. With Flick Dat you can: • Be imaginative and create your own business card from a variety of templates and photo filters that can be fully customized with colors and a logo. • Create your own cool, friendly, gripping, 30 seconds intro video on your card. • See other Flick Dat users on your WiFi network or nearby using bluetooth visually with name and avatar so you can quickly pick who to flick to. • Flick multiple business cards to multiple users. No need to pick users over and over again! • Receive or import business cards and store an unlimited amount of cards that can quickly search though. • Flick via WiFi, Bluetooth, Email, or Social Networks • Save received flicks to your device • Share with most Android devises. • Create an optional Flick Dat Online account to connect with other users and send flicks to anyone in the world. • Create cool and imaginative biz cards and make flicking fast and fun.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Mike Boettcher The Hornets Nest

The Hornet’s Nest is a groundbreaking and immersive feature film, using unprecedented real footage to tell the story of an elite group of U.S. troops sent on a dangerous mission deep inside one of Afghanistan’s most hostile valleys. The film culminates with what was planned as a single day strike turning into nine intense days of harrowing combat against an invisible, hostile enemy in the country’s complex terrain where no foreign troops have ever dared to go before. Two embedded journalists, a father and son (Mike and Carlos Boettcher) bravely followed the troops through the fiercest and most blood-soaked battlegrounds of the conflict. What resulted is an intensely raw feature film experience that will give audiences a deeply emotional and authentic view of the heroism at the center of this gripping story. INTERVIEW WITH MIKE BOETTCHER FROM THE SAN ANTONIO CURRENT MAY 16th Award-winning veteran war correspondent Mike Boettcher has seen a lot during his more than 30 years working as a journalist. From being kidnapped by terrorists in El Salvador in 1985 to surviving an attack by a suicide bomber in Baghdad in the mid-Aughts, Boettcher has found himself in a number of extremely dangerous situations throughout his career. In the new documentary The Hornet’s Nest, Boettcher and his son Carlos, both working for ABC News, spend two years in Afghanistan capturing footage of U.S. soldiers at war. The Current sat down with Boettcher during a tour stop in San Antonio a couple weeks ago after a screening of the film. Q. Tell me about the first time you ever stepped foot in Afghanistan. A. The first time I stepped foot in Afghanistan was early 2002. The war began after 9/11 and I went there, and there actually weren’t many troops coming in. When I stepped foot in Afghanistan, there’s something about that country – that part of the world – that has so much history. You’re stepping foot into a place that has been the crossroads of history for millenniums. That was not lost on me. I knew anything we would undertake there was not going to be easy. Q. In The Hornet’s Nest, you go into Afghanistan with your son Carlos by your side, who is also a journalist. Was it difficult for you to be a journalist there doing a job and also be a father who obviously was worried about his son’s well-being? A. The story takes a whole different spin with [Carlos] there. I’m a dad, so I’m looking out for my son. I’m with my son in one of the most dangerous places on earth. The one thing I couldn’t let happen was I couldn’t let my son die. People always tell me they think it’s fascinating to see a film about a father and son in a war zone telling the stories of the war. We never wanted to tell a father-son story. But people thought Americans would want to see that part of the story. We acquiesced and went ahead and told those stories about the father-son relationship because it’s something everyone can relate to. Not everyone can relate to war. Through the father-son story, we wanted to tell the bigger story of the war with all these other fathers and sons and mothers and daughters who are over there. Q. Why don’t you think Americans relate to the war today? A. I think you can see a feature movie about a war or watch a news story, but you really don’t feel it. That’s why I wanted to make this film. I wanted the American public to feel the sacrifice of war. I wanted them to feel immersed in what really happens. People die. It’s not pretty. People have a hard time relating to that. We’re here [in the U.S.] and we are safe. We have two oceans on each side of our border. We don’t have to worry as much about the war and aren’t as attuned to our security as nations in Europe are. Q. During the Bush Administration, the American public was never allowed to see caskets of American soldiers. That, of course, has changed in the last few years. Do you feel like that is something we needed to see to understand the sacrifice you’re talking about? A. Absolutely. In the early parts of WWII, the War Department prohibited images of U.S. deaths being shown in American newspapers. People forget during WWII, there was a period around 1943 where support for WWII was flagging. President Roosevelt made a decision and it was filtered through the War Department that those images could be shown. The first time the American public saw the consequences of war was, I believe, after the Battle in Anzio (in 1944). Photographs were shown. It galvanized American public opinion to continue supporting the war. It’s a little known historical fact. So, hiding the consequences is not the way to go. We need to show what our people are doing out there day after day after day to connect U.S. citizens with the decision to go to war. Q. By the end of this year, the U.S. should have most of its troops finally out of Afghanistan. I know you’re going to be there with the military during that drawdown. How do you see that playing out? Q. We’ll see. I believe we’re still going to have about 5,000 troops stay [in Afghanistan]. Those will not be combat troops, but support troops. I think we have an obligation to see this through. Look, we pulled the ripcord and pulled everyone out of Iraq and Iraq is in total chaos right now. As Secretary Rumsfeld has said before: If you break it, you have to fix it. I think we have an obligation to support these changes that our involvement after 9/11 brought. We have to be able to help the Afghan army supply itself. We have to help with political processes and have Americans there to continue trying to movie Afghanistan toward democracy. We have to have people who can build a judicial system. We have to have people who can train police. We must continue our involvement for a period of years until Afghanistan can stand on its own. Q. You’ve been covering the war for so long, would you say you’ve become jaded by the things you’ve seen? A. I used to think I was jaded, but then as you grow older you realize these are experiences that someone is experiencing uniquely. You may have seen something like that before, but for them, they’re in the moment. I think I took my job for granted for a few years. I was really excited when I got into journalism, and I covered all these things early. What I did was something important. What I think we need to do as journalists is embrace every day. Every day is a new day. There’s a new story out there. That’s why I love this job. We never know what we’re doing the next day. As I’ve gotten older, I’m now more excited than I was when I was 21 years old. Q. When you look at the makeup of the young U.S. soldiers who are fighting these wars, what do you see? After 9/11, people were signing up for the military because they had a sense of patriotism. Is that still the case? Are 18 and 19-year-old kids signing up because they feel they have a sense of duty to their country or has that changed? A. I think a majority of them still join because they want to serve their country. There’s something in their upbringing that compelled them to serve. Of course, some get in because they don’t know what else to do. Q. Does that make a different type of soldier? A. Initially, yeah, but once they’re there, they all become the same. I think they become committed to their fellow soldiers. The fact that they’re somewhere doing something important resonates with them. Everyone [joins the military] for a lot of different reasons, but what goes through that training funnel and comes out the other end are people who really love their country and have a connection to what it means to sacrifice for this nation. I actually think there should be some form of required national service. You don’t have to serve in the military. You can work in our schools. You can work to rebuild our nation. I think that younger generations need to be connected to their country and what it means to serve it. We get very individually orientated and lose sight of the bigger picture. People take the freedoms of this nation for granted and they shouldn’t because it could all go away. Q. What does it feel like to put your life in someone else’s hands when you’re on the ground in a country as dangerous as Afghanistan? Again, I know you’re there to do a job, but I’m sure the soldiers you are with feel some sense of responsibility for you. A. I feel like my life is in my hands. I made the decision to go there. I don’t want the soldiers there next to me to feel like they have to protect me. Now, they do. I don’t have a weapon. But I’m a volunteer. No one put a gun to my head and told me I had to go to Afghanistan. Frankly, when it comes to warfare, there are few people in this country who are more experienced than I am. So, I know how to take care of myself.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Mark Ballas Get My Name

On Monday, Dancing with the Stars' long time Pro Mark Ballas dropped his debut single GET MY NAME, produced by Timbaland protege Wizz Dumb and co-written, along with Mark, by Missy Elliott mentored Jo'zzy. The release coincided with Mark performing the single on Monday night's Dancing with the Stars, to rave reviews and the single trending world wide twice with #GetMyName and the single moving to 24 on the iTunes charts that very evening! The single's video, is a stunning piece, with high production value, BIG dance scenes and musical numbers, directed by DWTS colleague Derek Hough, shot in the contemporary with an old school feel -- premiering soon on MTV Hits! Additionally, take a look at what media breaking this Monday had to say... Wall Street Journal's Lisa Reynolds - "The show opens with Mark singing rather than dancing with the other pros. He performs his first solo song, "Get My Name," which sounds like early MJ or JT! He does a move-and-groove interlude on the floor that is show stopping!" Billboard's Annie Barrett - "Cheers to Mark Ballas officially the Robin Thicke of the Ballroom." Information below provides a further overview of both single and vid: 1. Live performance on DWTS Monday evening 5/5 http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi3517721/ 2. GET MY NAME Press release http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/480647-1398711842-recording-artistmusiciandancing-with-the-stars-pro-mark-ballas-releases-single-get-my-name-on-55.html 3. Soundcloud - GET MY NAME entire song https://soundcloud.com/markballas/get-my-name/s-zjpRF 4. GET MY NAME video TEASER - Epic :15 seconds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZkw3HiI3FM&feature=youtu.be 5. GET MY NAME iTunes link http://smarturl.it/GetMyName 6. GET MY NAME video - Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes ;60 seconds https://www.dropbox.com/s/at8i3wem4wqp1zn/ChelseaV3.mp4 7. GET MY NAME Cover Art - attached. 8. Mark Ballas Social and Digital Platforms Website: http://www.markballas.com/ Bio: http://www.markballas.com/pages/bio Twitter: @markballas / https://twitter.com/markballas Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markballas

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Lawrence Goen Styx

LAWRENCE GOWAN: STYX keyboardist / co - vocalist / co -writer since 1999. Living in Toronto, Lawrence has enjoyed a tremendous career since the 1980’s. Lawrence has scored 6 top ten singles, 4 platinum albums, 3 gold albums, and one gold single in Canada. In May of 2011 Mr. Gowan received a star on the Scarborough walk of fame. In 2003 he received the prestigious “classic status” award for the song “moonlight desires”. This award is presented when your song gets played over 100,000 times on Canadian radio. With this, Gowan joins a small group of singer /songwriters from Canada such as Neil Young, Bryan Adams, and Joni Mitchell to be so honored. Another Lawrence Gowan song “ a criminal mind ” was # 1 in Canada in 1985, and can also be found on the live STYX album from 2001, “STYXWORLD.” And you can find “ criminal mind ” on the Styx cd/dvd two disc set titled “ STYX, 21st century live ” Lawrence has been terminally diagnosed with C.E.S. (chronic entertainers syndrome) and can be seen spinning around on his keyboard as he performs with STYX, along with James Young, Tommy Shaw, Ricky Phillips, and Todd Sucherman (pro-nounced “sue - ker –man” ) and Chuck Panozzo. STYX is currently touring all over North America.

Darren Davis: Edward Snowden Comic Book

Bluewater Productions has announced plans to release a new comic book biography of fugitive Edward Snowden. Conspiracies. Espionage. UFOs. Hidden History. Secret Societies. The Paranormal. Beyond brings you stories about the secret and suppressed, the stories "They" don't want you to know! Take the Red Pill and join your fearless host Virgil Hall as he takes you far, far down the rabbit hole to Beyond. Edward Snowden has been called a whistleblower, a hero, a traitor, a criminal...but who is he really? In Beyond: Edward Snowden, Bluewater takes a look at the man behind the headlines, searching for what might have motivated him to commit one of the biggest leaks of classified information in U.S. history. Written by Marvel Comics’ Punisher writer Valerie D'Orazio and with art by Dan Lauer, Beyond: Edward Snowden will be released on May 21st and available in both print and digital formats. "It was a great experience working on this project, giving me the chance to stretch my skills both as a storyteller and as an artist," states artist Dan Lauer about the book. "Working with Bluewater on this comic was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring such a fascinating public figure's story to life," said Valerie D'Orazio. "Dan's art really added another dimension to this project and provided a look at a side of Edward Snowden the public has never really seen before. As a writer, I feel really lucky to have found a publisher who was willing to work with me so closely to turn my vision into a reality." The series will continue this fall with Beyond: The Joker, Man Who Laughs which delves into the symbolism and power behind one of pop-culture's most fearsome villains. Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. Clowns were meant to spread laughter, now they often spread fear. Where did ‘The Clown Curse’ come from and how has its legacy haunted everyone from serial killers to shooter James Holmes to Oscar winner Heath Ledger? Will the last laugh be on us or on them? Print copies of Beyond: Edward Snowden can be ordered exclusively for $3.99 at Comic Flea Market here: http://bit.ly/1qwCASD Beyond: The Joker, Man Who Laughs is available for pre-order now at Comic Flea Market and iTunes. You can download this title on Kindle, iTunes, ComiXology, DriveThru Comics, Google Play, My Digital Comics, Overdrive, Iverse, Biblioboard, ComicBin, Nook, Kobo and wherever eBooks are sold. Bluewater has focused on other political subjects in the past such as Colin Powell, The Tea Party Movement, Hillary Clinton, Bill O'Reilly, Chris Christie, Anderson Cooper, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and more. Bluewater biographical comic books have been featured on CNN, FOX News and in Time Magazine, and People Magazine, as well as many other publication and media outlets.

Robert Greenfield Ain't It Time We Said Goodbye

Although they did not know it then, when the Rolling Stones embarked on their farewell tour of Great Britain in March 1971 after having announced they were about to go into tax exile in the south of France, it was the end of an era. For the Stones, nothing would ever be the same again. For ten days on that tour, the Rolling Stones traveled by train and bus to play two shows a night in many of the same small town halls and theaters where they had begun their career. Performing brand new songs like "Bitch," "Brown Sugar," "Wild Horses," and "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" from their as-yet-unreleased album Sticky Fingers live on stage for the very first time, they also played classics like "Midnight Rambler," "Honky Tonk Women," "Satisfaction," "Street Fighting Man," and Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie" and "Let It Rock." Because only one journalist—Robert Greenfield—was allowed to accompany the Stones on this tour, there has never before been a full-length account of the landmark event that marked the end of the first chapter of the Rolling Stones' extraordinary career. In a larger sense, Ain't It Time We Said Goodbye is the story of two artists on the precipice. For Mick Jagger and Ketih Richards, as well as those who traveled with them, the Rolling Stones' farewell tour of England was the end of the innocence. No laminates. No backstage passes. No security. No sound checks and no rehearsals. Just the Rolling Stones on the road playing rock 'n' roll the way it was truly meant to be seen and heard. Based on Greenfield's first-hand account as well as new interviews with many of the key players, Ain't It Time We Said Goodbye is a vibrant and thrilling look at the way it once was and would never be again in the world according to the Rolling Stones. ABOUT ROBERT GREENFIELD Robert Greenfield, a former Associate Editor of the London bureau of Rolling Stone magazine, is the author of many classic rock books, including STP: A Journey Through America with the Rolling Stones and Exile on Main St.: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones, as well as the definitive biographies of Timothy Leary and Ahmet Ertegun. He is the coauthor, with Bill Graham, of Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock and Out, which won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award. An award-winning playwright and novelist, his short fiction has appeared in Esquire, GQ, and Playboy magazines. He lives in California.

Firstcom Music: The Man Behind the Commercial Music

Why do listeners instantly tune out of radio commercials? Wait! They tune out? No way! Research shows that listeners will sit through ten minute stop sets and learn everything about buying new cars, homes and chickens for a ranch you'll one day host. Lets take the medicine man game off the map and play reality. Listeners tune out. They zip past commercials on TV. They hit the button when their favorite station dives into a bunch of words that have nothing to do with their life and style. Copy writing and the "Right" music aren't just the key features of success. They are the entire door connected to the foundation that makes up the house placed on a city block. But what do radio people do? They bang out spots. They say it! Commercial production isn't a gig. It's a performance. It's a connection between the client and your listener. It's like being a third party without having to negotiate the end result. You set it out there. The listener buys into the idea of something being available that'll change their life. But what do radio people do? Bang it out. What if there was a way to replace the bang with a better understanding the buck? Ken from Firstcom stops in to talk about the music. Find out more

Monday, May 19, 2014

Sandi Thom

For a while most people still recalled her as the precocious next-generation talent that produced one of the defining hits of the internet age, ‘I Wish I Was A Punk Rock (With Flowers In My Hair)’, this talented singer-songwriter has come a long way in the years since then. As Sandi now says, “The strange thing about having the kind of success I had, people think they know you. In fact, people don’t know me at all.” That is all about to change, however, with the release of Sandi’s superb new album, Flesh and Blood. Recorded at Nashville’s legendary 16 Tons studio, with celebrated Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson in the production hot seat, the fourth Sandi Thom album is, she says, “the first album I’ve made that is really all about me.” Describing it as “a new chapter” in her story, personally and professionally, she adds: “I never liked to pigeonhole myself. I feel like my sound and voice have been naturally developing since I was 14-years-old, and that it’s only now I’ve finally hit upon what I really sound like.” It’s a sound that combines the blues-rock raunch of belting opening track ‘Help Me’ with the balladic, country-flavoured charm of ‘In The Pines’; that shows how to funk it up, as on the strutting, clavinet-led ‘Stormy Weather’; and that knows how to break your heart, as with the movingly climactic finale track, ‘Lay Your Burden Down’. Find out more:

Sam Hunt Leave The Night On

Hailing from rural Cedartown, Georgia - Sam Hunt is quickly becoming one of Nashville's most talked about young talents. After finishing his football career as quarterback for the University of Alabama Birmingham - Sam made the move to Nashville to try his hand at songwriting. Shortly after settling into the Nashville scene, he was given the opportunity to write full-time for a publisher. Using the work ethic and discipline he accrued as a ball player, Sam began to develop his craft and quickly gained recognition as a gifted songwriter. Sam made a name for himself in the country music community co-writing Kenny Chesney's #1 single "Come Over", as well as upcoming singles "Cop Car"/Keith Urban and "We Are Tonight"/Billy Currington. He is currently writing/recording songs for his debut album - due out in 2014. Samʼs sound owes itʼs roots to country music but has an eclectic style thatʼs based on pop, urban, folk and R&B influences. He's currently bringing his high-energy live show to eager fans on a fall/ winter tour and his hometown anthem "Raised On It" is giving the world a taste of what's to come!

Marty Friedman Inferno

At the end of the 20th Century, few guitar virtuosi were as respected and revered as MARTY FRIEDMAN. After first rising to prominence alongside fellow six-string whiz Jason Becker in the influential band Cacophony and via his well-received solo debut "Dragon's Kiss," FRIEDMAN joined Megadeth, with whom he soon wrote and recorded the thrash landmark "Rust In Peace." His 10-year tenure with the iconic group -- during which they sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and earned multiple Grammy nominations -- saw the band's dream lineup reach its greatest heights, and FRIEDMAN's unique sonic contributions became heavy metal DNA that to this day continues to inspire new generations of metal fans. On paper, it seemed as if FRIEDMAN was living the dream as a well-respected player in a multi-platinum act, but after a decade of cryptic, risky countdowns, the Washington, D.C.-native found himself anxious to explore new challenges. Soon after the release of 1999's "Risk," FRIEDMAN announced his departure from Megadeth and -- at least to many American fans -- vanished. A fanatical devotee of current Japanese music and pop culture, he rather suddenly moved to Tokyo, where continued to record and release albums that further solidified his guitar hero reputation overseas. Meanwhile, his absence from America seemed to aid the legend and influence of his previous catalog, which grew greater with each passing year. In Japan, FRIEDMAN became an enigma of sorts: Armed with a fluency in the Japanese language, he left a platinum-selling American band to start from nearly zero to pursue his longtime dream of making his mark on the Japanese domestic music world. That mission was accomplished far beyond his wildest expectations, as FRIEDMAN has performed at the largest venues in Asia, including three shows at the Tokyo Dome and five at Budokan. In addition, he played on and wrote several Japanese Top 10 hits, including a #1 single in 2011 and a #3 single in 2012. At the same time, FRIEDMAN also became a popular Japanese television personality who not only hosted several programs, but was even featured in several long-running national television ad campaigns. He estimates he has made well over 600 network TV appearances in Japan, including three televised sold-out solo performances with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2012, Prosthetic Records -- a U.S.-based independent label that introduced the world to Lamb of God, Animals As Leaders and All That Remains, among others -- approached FRIEDMAN about giving proper American releases to four of his Japanese studio albums and reissuing another that had become unavailable Stateside. Those conversations led to discussions about making a new record that would see FRIEDMAN remind the world outside of Japan of his phenomenal talents and why he's considered the greatest lead guitarist in thrash metal history. That wasn't enough for FRIEDMAN, though. "I wanted to create a new landmark to which my future music will be compared," he says. "That idea of just going completely balls-out -- knowing what the full potential of my music and my playing could possibly be, and actually making it a reality -- was what drove me through the whole process." The result is "Inferno," FRIEDMAN's first album of original material in four years and his first in more than a decade to be released worldwide simultaneously. Recorded in Los Angeles with engineer Chris Rakestraw (Children of Bodom, Danzig) and mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Amon Amarth), the album features what FRIEDMAN recently told Guitar World is "the most intense writing and playing I can do," with the goal of "go(ing) completely ape-shit, in the most 'Marty' way possible." "I'm extremely proud of the work I've done with Cacophony and Megadeth, but I was never interested in looking back or stopping there," FRIEDMAN says. "'Inferno' is the album that fans of my work with those two bands have always wanted me to make. I've finally made it, and completely on my own maniacal terms." Notably, "Inferno" includes several collaborations with players influenced by FRIEDMAN, including Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom), Revocation guitar whiz David Davidson, the flamenco/metal acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela and acclaimed rocker Danko Jones. In addition, the album features FRIEDMAN's first songwriting collaboration with Jason Becker since the pair played together in Cacophony. Ultimately, though, it's arguably the most compelling chapter yet in FRIEDMAN's improbable international journey -- one for which he's excited to have fans in all countries along for the ride.

Jason Kendall Throwback

Ever Wonder What’s Being Said at Home Plate? How a Team Silently Communicates? What Goes on in the Clubhouse Behind Closed Doors? America’s pastime has always left fans and amateur players alike yearning for the answers to questions about how pros play the game. Jason Kendall is an All-Star catcher who has seen just about everything during his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals. He’s a player’s player, a guy with true grit--a throwback to another time with a unique view on the game that so many love. Reminiscent of such classics as BALL FOUR and MEN AT WORK, Jason Kendall and sportswriter Lee Judge team up to bring you the fan, player, coach, or curious statistician an insider’s view of the game from a player’s perspective. This is a book about pre-game rituals, what to look for when a pitcher warms up between innings, the signs a catcher uses to communicate with the pitcher, and so much more. Some of baseball wisdom you will find inside: * What to look for during batting practice. * The right way to hit a batter. * Who’s a tough guy and who’s just posing. * How to spot a dirty slide. * Why you don’t look at the umpire while you’re arguing. Based on Kendall’s 15 years of professional MLB experience, THROWBACK is an informative, hilarious, and illuminating look into the world of professional baseball—and in a way that no one has ever seen before. ABOUT JASON KENDALL Having played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals, JASON KENDALL can boast three All-Star games. Kendall was known as a fundamentally sound catcher who was very good at blocking pitches and handling a pitching staff, despite a relatively weak throwing arm. At the plate, Kendall was known for his very opened stance and was a contact hitter who tended to "crowd" the plate. He was known to not use batting gloves. He was known as fiercely competitive, and was involved in several bench-clearing brawls. Kendall was also hit by pitches frequently as a result of his batting stance; he was hit 254 times, good for fifth all time. In addition to being a target for being hit by pitches, Kendall was also a stolen-base threat. His 189 stolen bases are second all-time in MLB history in the modern era (1901 and later) to Roger Bresnahan for stolen bases by a player primarily playing catcher for his career. Kendall's plate discipline and rare speed at the catcher position also enabled him to be used as a leadoff batter. Kendall started the game batting leadoff in 438 of his 2,085 games played, including 119 of his 147 games in 2004 and 90 of his 143 games in 2006 No other major-league catcher in the modern era of baseball has ever batted the majority of his team's games in the leadoff spot in any season.

John Waite

Los Angeles, CA, April 5th, 2014: With a career spanning nearly four decades, legendary singer-songwriter John Waite, known for his solo work as well as work with iconic bands The Babys and Bad English, will be releasing his new greatest hits record, BEST, on May 13, 2014. The album features 18 songs spanning his illustrious career including eleven studio hits - three of which were recently re-recorded - five live songs, and two unplugged tracks. “This collection is called BEST because it's my best. It's me putting together my favorite work and it’s totally subjective; I had no one to answer to but myself,” says Waite. “It was, I have to say, great fun.” Waite has been successfully writing, recording and performing some of the most listenable, enduring and appreciated popular music for more than 35 years. He rose to fame as bassist and lead vocalist for The Babys, who rocketed to Top 20 chart positions with a pair of infections hits - “Isn’t it Time” from the band’s 1977 sophomore LP, Broken Heart and the monster ballad, “Every Time I Think of You” off 1978’s Head First. After the breakup of The Babys, Waite began an abundant and prodigious solo career, ignited by the well-received release, Ignition, which featured the single, “Change,” which rode the AOR charts for weeks in 1982. John’s next solo effort, 1984’s No Brakes, did exactly what the title inferred, barreling at runaway train speed to international acclaim and U.S. platinum success thanks to the smash hit, “Missing You,” which did not stop until it reached Number 1 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles, Album Rock Tracks and Adult Contemporary charts. The following up single, “Tears” was a top 10 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. In 1988, a reunion with former Baby’s band mates, Jonathan Cain and Ricky Phillips –along with uber-guitarist Neal Schon from Journey and drummer Deen Castronovo –resulted in the John Waite fronted supergroup, Bad English. And in 1989, the group’s ballad, “When I See You Smile,” – penned by Grammy-winning songwriter, Diane Warren – went to Number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and was certified Gold. The album reached Top Five and sold more than two million units in the U.S. alone. Bad English released two albums before breaking up in 1992. Since returning to the recording studio and concert trek as a solo artist in 1995, John has produced a string of solid, existentially eccentric, courageously eclectic and blisteringly electric rock n’ roll records, including 1995’s Temple Bar, 1997’s When You Were Mine, 2001’s Figure in a Landscape, 2004’s The Hard Way, 2006’s Downtown: Journey of a Heart and 2010’s In Real Time. It's especially timely that John Waite's BEST is coming out now as New York Times Best Selling author Harlan Coben's new thriller Missing You is named after Waite's signature 1984 chart-topper. The thriller even references the iconic song, which is represented on this new collection twice with a newly recorded version and an intimate duet with Alison Krauss. For more information, visit: www.johnwaitethesinger.com TRACK LIST: 1. Back On My Feet Again (newly re-recorded) 2. Isn’t It Time (newly re-recorded) 3. Rough and Tumble 4. Missing You (newly re-recorded) 5. If You Ever Get Lonely 6. Better Off Gone 7. Suicide Life 8. Change (live) 9. Every Time I Think Of You (live) 10. Head First (live) 11. Evil (live) 12. Saturday Night (live) 13. Bluebird Café (unplugged) 14. I’m Ready (unplugged) 15. In Dreams 16. The Hard Way 17. Downtown 18. Missing You (duet with Allison Krauss)

Friday, May 16, 2014

Chris De'Lia The Undateable

NBC is about to invade your living room with some summertime funny that will leave you hating fall and winter. Break out the DVR and do all you can to preserve the essence of quality laughter. The Undateable is about to become the new word. From Bill Lawrence ("Scrubs," "Spin City," "Cougar Town," "Clone High") and Adam Sztykiel ("Due Date," "Made of Honor"), "Undateable" is a new comedy series about a group of friends who are this close to finding a relationship - they just need a little help. Whether it's due to a lack of style, the wrong job or even just a bad haircut, everyone goes through a time in their lives when they're undateable. Most of us eventually grow out of it, but some people need a little more help than others. Enter Danny Burton (Chris D'Elia, "Whitney"). Confident, attractive and impervious to outside opinions, 29-year-old Danny - who may be in a state of arrested development himself - decides to help out his new roommate, Justin Kearney (comedian Brent Morin), the owner of an unsuccessful bar and a chronic overthinker, and Justin's group of oddball friends - Shelly (comedian Ron Funches), Burski (comedian Rick Glassman) and Brett (David Fynn, "Game of Thrones"). Danny introduces the gang to his recently divorced older sister, Leslie (Bianca Kajlich, "Rules of Engagement"), who immediately bonds with this group of guys, as she feels a little stuck in her own life as well. The gang spends most of their time at Justin's bar, helping solve each other's respective problems over beers, and while they love to give each other a hard time, they always have each other's back.

The Plastic's Toby Sheldon and Kitty Jay

Los Angeles, CA, May 12, 2014 – "Are you one of the boring people, who don’t want to be beautiful?" This is the lead off lyric to a new song called "The Plastics", the debut single from the group known as "The Plastics", and in case you were ever wondering if you were, you just might find out by listening. The Plastics are made up of Toby Sheldon – the man who underwent $100,000 worth of plastic surgery to look like Justin Bieber, Venus D’Lite – a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race who has spent thousands to look like her idol Madonna, and Kitty Jay – who, you guessed it – spent $25,000 to look like Jennifer Lawrence. The song also features Adam Barta, who co- wrote the lyrics. Why come together and release a music single? They want their message spread far and wide – being plastic is "in". The song is an ode to plastic surgery, and the aficionados who love it and live it, much like these plastics do. Of course, with a song this fun, there’s a music video that is sure to go viral. And it’s just what you would expect – the plastics in the recording studio and their favorite place on Earth... the doctor’s office getting some work done! Facial plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Persky of Encino, CA and plastic surgeon Dr. Matthew Schulman of NYC both appear in the video. All three plastics became instant celebrities when the media broke their stories. They have appeared on shows like E! News, Inside Edition, Nightline, TMZ, My Strange Addiction, and popped up in mainstream print publications like Cosmo, the NY Post and countless more. Watch the Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Csg0XCGIk Available on iTunes May 13th! Follow them on Twitter: @toby_sheldon_LA @RealKittyJay @venusdlite and @adam_barta WHAT DOES TIME MAGAZINE SAY ABOUT THEIR VIDEO? It's awful, but also amazing. What do you do with your free time after you’ve spent your life savings on plastic surgery to look like a famous celebrity? You form a supergroup with other über-fans who have spent thousands of dollars to look like other famous celebrities, of course. Toby Sheldon, the Justin Bieber fan who underwent $100,000 worth of plastic surgery to look like his idol has teamed up with Kitty Jay, the woman who spent $25,000 on surgery to look like Jennifer Lawrence, and Venus D’Lite, the RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant who dropped some serious cash to morph into Madonna, to form an aptly-named group, the Plastics. Their first release is a celebration of celebrity lookalikes that opens with a question: “Are you one of those boring people who don’t want to be beautiful?” The video features the trio extolling the virtues of their lifestyle choices and could easily double as a late-night cable ad for plastic surgeons everywhere.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Blake Harris Console Wars

Following the success of The Accidental Billionaires and Moneyball comes Console Wars—a mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video game industry. In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But that would all change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a man who knew nothing about videogames and everything about fighting uphill battles. His unconventional tactics, combined with the blood, sweat and bold ideas of his renegade employees, transformed Sega and eventually led to a ruthless David-and-Goliath showdown with rival Nintendo. The battle was vicious, relentless, and highly profitable, eventually sparking a global corporate war that would be fought on several fronts: from living rooms and schoolyards to boardrooms and Congress. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, no-holds-barred conflict that pitted brother against brother, kid against adult, Sonic against Mario, and the US against Japan. Based on over two hundred interviews with former Sega and Nintendo employees, Console Wars is the underdog tale of how Kalinske miraculously turned an industry punchline into a market leader. It’s the story of how a humble family man, with an extraordinary imagination and a gift for turning problems into competitive advantages, inspired a team of underdogs to slay a giant and, as a result, birth a $60 billion dollar industry. ABOUT THE UPCOMING MOVIE CONSOLE WARS (FROM wIRED.COM) In the 1990s, an arms race kicked off in the living room between videogame makers Sega and Nintendo. From the Sega Master System to the DreamCast, from the Nintendo Entertainment System to Nintendo 64, the fight for which company could boast the best graphics and games — and move the most units — raged between them as they angled for market share. (And shed a tear for anyone who tried to elbow their way in — sorry TurboGrafx 16). And now that story is booting up to the big screen. Scott Rudin will produce an adaptation of the book "Console Wars" by Blake J. Harris with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to write and direct. The pair are a pretty spot on choice for this gig; not only do they have the right geek credentials, they were coming of age right at the time of the Sega/Nintendo showdown which should give them a solid insight on everything that went down. ABOUT BLAKE HARRIS Blake J. Harris is a writer and filmmaker based out of New York. He is currently co-directing the documentary based on his book, which is being produced by Scott Rudin, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg. He will also serve as an executive producer on Sony's feature-film adaptation of Console Wars.

38 Special Don Barnes

The 600 Festival™ Association’s most notable event, Speed Street, is proud to have its two longest-standing sponsors, Coca-Cola and Chevrolet, as title and presenting sponsors, respectively, for the 20th annual event. Coca-Cola Speed Street presented by Chevrolet, which offers an unprecedented consumer experience, will take place in Uptown Charlotte May 22-24. The three-day event offers live entertainment, access to racing’s brightest stars and interactive displays from sponsors including Coca-Cola, Chevrolet and many more. This year’s musical entertainment will include headliners Who’s Bad Thursday night, Thompson Square Friday night and .38 Special Saturday night. “Coca-Cola has been an exceptional partner for Speed Street since its inception,” said Jay Howard, president of the 600 Festival™ Association. “The brand has an unremarkable imprint on the world of racing, and we are thrilled to have them as our title sponsor for our milestone 20th year.” To learn more about the 600 Festival™ Association, visit www.600festival.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @600festival.

Willie Randolph The Yankee Way

"I don’t know if it is possible to love something too much, and maybe some people could say that my intensity and passion were responsible for both the highs and lows I experienced in each of my roles in the game. I will say this: I’d rather be hanged for my errors of commission than my errors of omission. Put another way, I’d rather lose because I cared too much than because I didn’t care enough." – Willie Randolph It Books is thrilled to publish former Yankee 2nd baseman Willie Randolph’s THE YANKEE WAY: Playing, Coaching, and My Life in Baseball (It Books; Hardcover; May 2014; ISBN 9780061450778; $26.99). Filled with sixteen pages of black-and-white photos, Randolph’s long awaited memoir is a thoughtful, fascinating look at the storied career of one of New York City’s own. For over 30 years, the six-time all-star has been a part of Yankee lore, and few people have come to know the breadth of personalities as he has. A rare figure who not only was a player but also member of their coaching staff, Willie had the best seat in the house to three generations worth of Yankee greats including the most wild, colorful team in history—the 1977-78 Bronx Zoo. THE YANKEE WAY is a story from beyond the headlines told by a man who lived through it all. After a brief stop in Pittsburgh, Randolph was signed at 21 years old to a franchise right in his backyard.the New York Yankees. He quickly established himself as a fixture on the fabled Bronx Zoo teams of the late 1970s, playing with the likes of Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson, and winning two World Series championships under the cantankerous eye of legendary manager Billy Martin. Randolph continued with the team during the 1980s, sharing the spotlight with Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield, and earning himself the co-Captain spot in 1986. In the 1990s, he returned as a third base coach, beginning an eleven-year stint with the team during their incredible run of success under manager Joe Torre, while mentoring the next generation of Yankee stars including the Core Four. Though Randolph is a Yankee, he is first and foremost a true New York City talent. Raised in the mean streets of Brooklyn, Randolph tells a story that could only happen in the Big Apple, describing his rise from the projects to the house that Ruth built. Touching upon the importance of a supportive family, he discusses his triumphs and struggles on the field and in the dugout, in addition to traveling across the bridge to become the first African American to manage a New York baseball team. Detailing his time in pinstripes on and off the field—with players like Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Thurman Munson, Graig Nettles, Goose Gossage, Don Mattingly, Ron Guidry, Dave Winfield, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Tino Martinez, Paul O’Neil, Bernie Williams, of course, The Boss himself—THE YANKEE WAY is a firsthand insight into some of the best players to ever play the game and the greatest teams ever to call the Bronx their home. There are very few, if any, who can lay claim to “The Quintessential New York Athlete” title as Willie Randolph can. And if being a true New Yorker is part of what defines Willie…being a true Yankee does so equally. Randolph weaves an exhilarating journey from his early boyhood days to life today. What emerges is a moving portrait of a legendary team, a unique city, and a remarkable man. THE YANKEE WAY includes: REFLECTIONS ON A STORIED CAREER. Willie shares his thoughts on his major milestones including: • Playing in Brooklyn’s Parade Grounds, and following in the footsteps of Sandy Koufax, Joe Torre and other Brooklyn greats • Signing his first MLB contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates • The trade to the Yankees in 1975 • Winning the World Series with the 1977-78 Bronx Zoo teams • Appointed Yankee Captain with Ron Guidry in 1986 • His return to the Yankees in 1994 as third base coach • Becoming the first African American manager in New York baseball history in 2005 THE ADRENALINE OF GAMETIME: Randolph analyzes some of the most action-packed games in his time playing, revealing all the high-risk decision-making, and the intensity of some of baseball’s most historic moments including the 2000 Subway World Series, Game 3 of the 2003 ALCS (the Pedro Martinez & Don Zimmer brawl) and, of course, the moment the pop-fly bunt settled into Mike Torrez’s glove in 1977 to end the years of frustration Yankee players and fans had experienced. FABLED STORIES FROM THE DUGOUT: Playing with the Bronx Zoo teams, his friendship with Munson and the impact of his tragic death, the much-hyped tension between Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin in 1977, meeting Don Mattingly for the first time during spring training in 1980, being a part of drought-breaking World Series victories as both player and coach, cheering Jeter on as he broke Lou Gehrig’s franchise hit record, and even heckling “Captain Clutch” from the sidelines at Yankee Stadium are just some of the highlights. PERSONAL LOOKS AT SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS NAMES IN BASEBALL including: Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Thurman Munson, Graig Nettles, Goose Gossage, Don Mattingly, Ron Guidry, Dave Winfield, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Tino Martinez, Paul O’Neil, Bernie Williams, and The Boss, the incomparable George Steinbrenner. MAKING THE TOUGH CALLS: Randolph compares and contrasts players from his days playing and coaching to reveal his top picks from the left to the right, including stats that make for an interesting discussion. PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT, LOYALTY AND LEADERSHIP LESSONS: Each aspect of Randolph’s long career is applicable not just to baseball, but to life as well. Through his belief in cultivating personal relationships with every member of the team combined with his loyalty to the Yankees and the game, Randolph’s humility offers life lessons for leaders of all kinds. FOR ALL BASEBALL FANS, REGARDLESS OF TEAM AFFILIATION: A living legend in the game, Randolph has written a book for baseball fans of all stripes. He is widely admired and respected by the MLB establishment and fans. WILLIE RANDOLPH BIO Willie Randolph grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he was a star athlete. Upon graduating from high school, Randolph was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1972. By December of 1975, he was traded to the Yankees, where he would spend 13 of his 18 seasons as a player. During his time with the Yankees, Randolph was their starting second baseman on the 1977 and 1978 World Series Championship teams. He also served as co-captain of the Yankees with Ron Guidry from 1986-1988. In 1989, Randolph left the Yankees and moved quickly between teams until he retired in 1992. Randolph went on to base and bench coach the Yankees for 11 seasons. In 2005, Randolph became the Mets manager, despite never having managed a team before. In his first two seasons with the Mets, Randolph became the first manager in major league history to improve his team’s record by at least 12 games in each season. He went on to become the bench coach for the Milwaukee Brewers during the 2009-2010 season, and the bench coach, and later the third-base coach, for the Baltimore Orioles in 2011. In 2013, he was the third-base coach for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Randolph currently lives in Franklin Lakes with his wife, Gretchen and enjoys spending time with his four children.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Tracey Davis

Sammy Davis Jr. was at the height of his stardom in 1961 when he and close friend Frank Sinatra campaigned to elect President John F. Kennedy, but after Davis married Swedish actress May Britt, Kennedy refused to let him perform at his inauguration, Davis' daughter claims in a new book. The entertainer's daughter with Britt, Tracey Davis, reveals the Kennedy snub and more in her new book, "Sammy Davis Jr.: A Personal History with My Father," based on conversations with her father in his final months before he died in 1990. The book details how Davis overcame racism and bigotry to sing, dance and act his way to the top of a career that spanned six decades and included 40 albums, seven Broadway shows, 23 films and countless nightclub and concert performances. Talent Shielded Davis from Bigotry At the tender age of 3, Davis joined his father Sammy Davis, Sr., and Will Mastin to perform on the vaudeville stage as the Will Mastin Trio. His father put him in black face and claimed he was a 44-year-old dwarf known as Silent Sam, because it was illegal for performers under 16 to be on stage. Because of their skin color, they were forced to stay in colored boarding houses while on the road, but Davis' father told him they did that because other people were jealous of their act. "Somehow in my naive sheltered world, I believed it," Davis said in the book. "All I knew was when the Will Mastin Trio got onstage, people laughed, clapped, were entertained. Talent earned us respect." Added Davis, "Talent was my only weapon." How Davis Survived Racism in the Army While in the Army, the 17-year-old, 5-foot-6, 120-pound entertainer was repeatedly beaten and humiliated by the white soldiers in his unit until a sergeant named Williams taught him how to use his talent and not his fists to fight racial ignorance. "Sergeant Williams was my savior," Davis said in the book. "I owe him my life. He tempered all the humiliation I felt from my unit. He distracted me from all my rage, all my anger. I wouldn't have survived the army without him." Davis' daughter writes that Williams taught the entertainer, who had never attended school, how to read and write. "With all the racial tension I endured, I never turned around and hated right back," Davis said in the book. "There was always some white guy like Sergeant Williams or Frank Sinatra, who helped me back up." The Davis and Sinatra Friendship Davis and Sinatra became friends from the moment they met in 1941 at the Michigan Theatre in Detroit when the Will Mastin Trio stepped in as an opening act for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Sinatra. The star's daughter wrote that the two bonded over a sandwich between shows. "Nobody but Frank Sinatra could have put Sammy Davis where he was," Davis said in the book. "Sinatra, first of all was never a racist kind of guy. He cared about everybody being equal. When Frank said, 'This guy's great," they all paid attention." Kennedy Snubs Davis But not even Sinatra's friendship could get Davis into Kennedy's inauguration. When Davis married the glamorous blonde Swedish actress, Britt, in 1960, it not only made headlines, it inspired death threats and demonstrations and forced Davis to hire 24-hour armed guards. Though Davis had campaigned tirelessly, alongside Sinatra, to get Kennedy elected, his daughter wrote that after his interracial marriage, which at the time was forbidden by law in 31 states, her father's name was dropped from the list of entertainers at the president's inaugural party hosted by Sinatra. Britt and Davis would split seven years later. Though their daughter says she was the love of his life, Davis couldn't give up chasing stardom and was hardly ever home. How Davis Lost an Eye and Became a Jew In 1953, Davis struck up a friendship with comedian and host Eddie Cantor, who gave him a mezuzah. But instead of putting it by his door, as a traditional blessing, Davis would wear it around his neck as a good luck charm. The only time he forgot it, one night in 1954, he crashed his car on a way to a gig in California. Davis' face hit the steering wheel, fracturing the bones in his face and leaving his left eye dangling from his socket. He was forced to get an artificial eye and learn how to find his balance on stage again. After much soul-searching about his life up to that point, he decided to convert to Judaism. Later he would joke about being the only "black, Puerto Rican, one-eyed Jewish entertainer" in the world. MORE ON TRACEY DAVIS AND SAMMY DAVIS JR Nicknamed Mr. Show Business, Sammy Davis Jr. was a consummate performer who sang, danced, and acted on film, television, radio, and the stage for over six decades. In this uniquely intimate volume, the entertainment legend's story comes to life through rare family photos and a compelling narrative based on conversations between Sammy Davis Jr. and his daughter, Tracey Davis. The story of a future superstar unfolds beginning with his bittersweet childhood days, raised primarily by his grandmother in Harlem. On the stage by age three, he first became a star in vaudeville with the Will Mastin Trio. Davis was already an up-and-coming performer by the time he was recruited into the Army during World War II. As Tracey Davis candidly relates, it was there that her father first learned to use his talent-singing and dancing-as a weapon against racial bigotry. Davis's career took off in the 1940s through his sheer determination, talent, and the support of friends like Frank Sinatra. With tenderness and humor Tracey describes her father's friendship with Sinatra, and how he stood by him when Davis married Tracey's Swedish actress mother. In a time when interracial marriages were forbidden by law in thirty-one states, both bride and groom endured an onslaught of negative press and even death threats. Complete with rare personal and professional photos, Sammy Davis Jr. recounts Davis's adventures through the Rat Pack era, and the extraordinary obstacles he overcame to become a 5'6", 120-pound legend who across six decades packed in more than forty albums, seven Broadway shows, twenty-three films, and countless nightclub and concert performances. What emerges from the pages of this loving, but utterly frankly written book, is a uniquely personal perspective on one of the greatest pop culture icons of the twentieth century.

Tracey Davis

Sammy Davis Jr. was at the height of his stardom in 1961 when he and close friend Frank Sinatra campaigned to elect President John F. Kennedy, but after Davis married Swedish actress May Britt, Kennedy refused to let him perform at his inauguration, Davis' daughter claims in a new book. The entertainer's daughter with Britt, Tracey Davis, reveals the Kennedy snub and more in her new book, "Sammy Davis Jr.: A Personal History with My Father," based on conversations with her father in his final months before he died in 1990. The book details how Davis overcame racism and bigotry to sing, dance and act his way to the top of a career that spanned six decades and included 40 albums, seven Broadway shows, 23 films and countless nightclub and concert performances. Talent Shielded Davis from Bigotry At the tender age of 3, Davis joined his father Sammy Davis, Sr., and Will Mastin to perform on the vaudeville stage as the Will Mastin Trio. His father put him in black face and claimed he was a 44-year-old dwarf known as Silent Sam, because it was illegal for performers under 16 to be on stage. Because of their skin color, they were forced to stay in colored boarding houses while on the road, but Davis' father told him they did that because other people were jealous of their act. "Somehow in my naive sheltered world, I believed it," Davis said in the book. "All I knew was when the Will Mastin Trio got onstage, people laughed, clapped, were entertained. Talent earned us respect." Added Davis, "Talent was my only weapon." How Davis Survived Racism in the Army While in the Army, the 17-year-old, 5-foot-6, 120-pound entertainer was repeatedly beaten and humiliated by the white soldiers in his unit until a sergeant named Williams taught him how to use his talent and not his fists to fight racial ignorance. "Sergeant Williams was my savior," Davis said in the book. "I owe him my life. He tempered all the humiliation I felt from my unit. He distracted me from all my rage, all my anger. I wouldn't have survived the army without him." Davis' daughter writes that Williams taught the entertainer, who had never attended school, how to read and write. "With all the racial tension I endured, I never turned around and hated right back," Davis said in the book. "There was always some white guy like Sergeant Williams or Frank Sinatra, who helped me back up." The Davis and Sinatra Friendship Davis and Sinatra became friends from the moment they met in 1941 at the Michigan Theatre in Detroit when the Will Mastin Trio stepped in as an opening act for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Sinatra. The star's daughter wrote that the two bonded over a sandwich between shows. "Nobody but Frank Sinatra could have put Sammy Davis where he was," Davis said in the book. "Sinatra, first of all was never a racist kind of guy. He cared about everybody being equal. When Frank said, 'This guy's great," they all paid attention." Kennedy Snubs Davis But not even Sinatra's friendship could get Davis into Kennedy's inauguration. When Davis married the glamorous blonde Swedish actress, Britt, in 1960, it not only made headlines, it inspired death threats and demonstrations and forced Davis to hire 24-hour armed guards. Though Davis had campaigned tirelessly, alongside Sinatra, to get Kennedy elected, his daughter wrote that after his interracial marriage, which at the time was forbidden by law in 31 states, her father's name was dropped from the list of entertainers at the president's inaugural party hosted by Sinatra. Britt and Davis would split seven years later. Though their daughter says she was the love of his life, Davis couldn't give up chasing stardom and was hardly ever home. How Davis Lost an Eye and Became a Jew In 1953, Davis struck up a friendship with comedian and host Eddie Cantor, who gave him a mezuzah. But instead of putting it by his door, as a traditional blessing, Davis would wear it around his neck as a good luck charm. The only time he forgot it, one night in 1954, he crashed his car on a way to a gig in California. Davis' face hit the steering wheel, fracturing the bones in his face and leaving his left eye dangling from his socket. He was forced to get an artificial eye and learn how to find his balance on stage again. After much soul-searching about his life up to that point, he decided to convert to Judaism. Later he would joke about being the only "black, Puerto Rican, one-eyed Jewish entertainer" in the world. MORE ON TRACEY DAVIS AND SAMMY DAVIS JR Nicknamed Mr. Show Business, Sammy Davis Jr. was a consummate performer who sang, danced, and acted on film, television, radio, and the stage for over six decades. In this uniquely intimate volume, the entertainment legend's story comes to life through rare family photos and a compelling narrative based on conversations between Sammy Davis Jr. and his daughter, Tracey Davis. The story of a future superstar unfolds beginning with his bittersweet childhood days, raised primarily by his grandmother in Harlem. On the stage by age three, he first became a star in vaudeville with the Will Mastin Trio. Davis was already an up-and-coming performer by the time he was recruited into the Army during World War II. As Tracey Davis candidly relates, it was there that her father first learned to use his talent-singing and dancing-as a weapon against racial bigotry. Davis's career took off in the 1940s through his sheer determination, talent, and the support of friends like Frank Sinatra. With tenderness and humor Tracey describes her father's friendship with Sinatra, and how he stood by him when Davis married Tracey's Swedish actress mother. In a time when interracial marriages were forbidden by law in thirty-one states, both bride and groom endured an onslaught of negative press and even death threats. Complete with rare personal and professional photos, Sammy Davis Jr. recounts Davis's adventures through the Rat Pack era, and the extraordinary obstacles he overcame to become a 5'6", 120-pound legend who across six decades packed in more than forty albums, seven Broadway shows, twenty-three films, and countless nightclub and concert performances. What emerges from the pages of this loving, but utterly frankly written book, is a uniquely personal perspective on one of the greatest pop culture icons of the twentieth century.

Bethany Hamilton Body and Soul

Bethany Hamilton has become a fitness expert by virtue of being a professional athlete who has excelled---and she's done it while overcoming incredible challenges. Whether you know Bethany or not, whether you surf or not, everyone has challenges, and in Body and Soul, Bethany shares some of her core experiences with body, mind and spirit. Sharing her expertise as an athlete, Body and Soul helps young girls develop a healthy lifestyle, understand their changing bodies, gain confidence, and establish a pattern of healthy living starting at a young age. This book includes workouts specially developed for young girls by Bethany’s personal trainer, recipes and information on healthy eating based on “Bethany’s food pyramid,” which follows the Mediterranean diet, and advice on deepening your spiritual health, for a total body wellness book perfect for growing girls. This isn't a book about Bethany, this is a book about wellness, becoming your best “you,” through physical and spiritual balance, because spiritual health is just as important as physical health.

Griffin Dunne The Discoverers

Griffin Dunne was an Academy Award nominee as the director of the Oscar-nominated live-action short film Duke of Groove, which marked a breakout role for its lead actor Tobey Maguire and which also starred Kate Capshaw and Uma Thurman. His feature credits as a director have included the hit Practical Magic, which teamed Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman; Addicted to Love, starring Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick; Fierce People, starring Anton Yelchin and Diane Lane; The Accidental Husband, starring Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Colin Firth; a segment of the comedy anthology Movie 43 starring Emma Stone and the acclaimed mockumentary [Lisa Picard is] Famous. As an actor, Mr. Dunne is best known for his starring roles in two unforgettable dark comedies, John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London and Martin Scorsese’s After Hours. He was a Golden Globe Award nominee for his performance in the latter, and was an Independent Spirit Award nominee in his capacity as a producer of the film. He also appeared in the Oscar-winning drama Dallas Buyers Club Among the other movies that he has produced are such acclaimed films as John Sayles’ Baby It’s You, starring Rosanna Arquette and Vincent Spano; Joan Micklin Silver’s Chilly Scenes of Winter, starring John Heard; Michael Hoffman’s Game 6, starring Michael Keaton and Robert Downey Jr.; Luis Mandoki’s White Palace, starring Susan Sarandon and James Spader; Lasse Hallström’s Once Around, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter; and Sidney Lumet’s Running on Empty, which was scripted by Academy Award nominee Naomi Foner and starred Academy Award nominee River Phoenix. Mr. Dunne’s many other films as actor have included Robert Redford’s Quiz Show; James Foley’s Who’s That Girl, opposite Madonna; Luc Besson’s The Big Blue; Amy Heckerling’s Johnny Dangerously; and Guillaume Canet’s Blood Ties, with Clive Owen, Marion Cotillard, and Billy Crudup. Television audiences have seen him in guest appearances on, among other shows, Frasier, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination; Girls; Damages; and, in a recurring role, House of Lies ABOUT HIS NEW FILM THE DISCOVERERS. OPENING IN NY MAY 16TH AND IN LA MAY 30TH Washed-up history professor Lewis Birch (Oscar and Emmy nominated Griffin Dunne) takes his begrudging teenagers – Zoe (Madeleine Martin, “Californication”) and Jack (Devon Graye, "American Horror Stories") – on a road trip to a conference in hopes of jumpstarting his career and reconnecting with his kids. But, when Lewis’s estranged father Stanley (Emmy Award-winning Stuart Margolin) goes missing on a Lewis and Clark historical reenactment trek, Lewis is forced to make a family detour. The Birch family find themselves on a journey of discovery and connection as they make their own passage west. THE DISCOVERERS is a charming bittersweet comedy and moving debut feature from writer/director Justin Schwarz, led by Dunne's striking comeback performance. This heartfelt tale of family dysfunction and rediscovery features a talented ensemble cast including Emmy-nominee Cara Buono ("Mad Men"), David Rasche, (IN THE LOOP), Dreama Walker (“Don’t Trust the B in Apt 23”), NBR-winner Ann Dowd (COMPLIANCE), Becky Ann Baker ("Girls"), Scott Adsit (“30 Rock”), and John C. McGinley ("Scrubs"). The creative team includes cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt (BLING RING), production designer Kelly McGehee (WHAT MAISIE KNEW), editor Geraud Brisson (BIG SUR), and costume designer Kim Wilcox (NOBODY WALKS). AN INTERVIEW WITH GRIFFIN DUNNE (from the film’s press notes) A Q&A WITH ACTOR GRIFFIN DUNNE (“LEWIS BIRCH”) Q: What about THE DISCOVERERS attracted you to want to be in the film? GD: First of all, I was really taken with the tone, emotion and the humor of Justin’s script. I found there was a level of great humor that comes out of despair. The script had a kind of salty-sugar balance, yin and yang, happy-sad kind of tone all the way through it and I think the best comedies come out of that. Comedies aren't really about people whose life is going swimmingly, there's nothing funny about that. They're always about people at the crossroads of their life and the extreme reaction they have when they reach these crossroads. The script was kind of this great comedic metaphor for a personal journey that we all take, that we all find unavoidable. But I also quickly identified with my character, Lewis. Hitting the half-century mark, like he has, was something very relatable for me. You can be very reflective about how your life has gone thusfar and how much you’ve accomplished. And to have something you care deeply about, that you’re not sure anyone will ever see, like when directing a movie. My daughter has just moved out of the house to start her own life. So much of my life in the past 20 years has been devoted to being a dad – now that role has changed. So it hit a lot of tones of the heart for me. It was very timely. Q: Describe where Lewis is at when we meet him. GD: Lewis is at the crossroads of his life and he’s got a lot of problems: personal problems, family problems, work problems. He’s rather estranged from his children, a casualty of his own divorce. He’s a historian and has a book he’s worked on for years about Lewis and Clark which is about to be published, and he’s going to deliver a paper about it at a conference in Oregon. It's a career break he very much needs, but it coincides with the time he has his children, so he brings them along for a family road trip. But his mother dies, and he quickly finds himself and his two kids following around his senile father on a Lewis and Clark “Trek” re-enactment – not what he’d expected to find himself doing. Plus, he finds out his book isn’t getting published after all. But through all of this, he finds himself in a surprising intimate relationship with one of the women re-enactors, played by Cara Buono, and really bonds in a strong and profound way with his children – and his father. He comes out of himself and really feels compassion for other people, and takes the focus off his own life and career. It really turns out to be his salvation, kind of brings him back to life. Like all the other characters, Lewis has this journey of his own self-discovery where he assesses what it is important to him. His relationship to his father is important and the connection he makes with his children is important and he just sort of gives himself permission to feel okay about himself. He's put so many years into something that he kind of feels that his life doesn't really add up. But I think as the result of this journey, he sees he has made a difference and he's still in the game and he will make a difference, which is kind of a tough thing to come to if you're having a mid-life crisis. It's a tough thing to pull out of and this guy does. Q: Are you a history buff yourself? GD: I am, in fact. It was so great to research something that really interests me. I usually play sort of urban characters in screwed up relationships in modern settings. I don’t need to research that a whole lot. Q: What kinds of things did you do to prep for your role? GD: I read quite a bit about Lewis and Clark – I read Meriwether Lewis’s journals and a number of other books, many recommended by the director, Justin, who knows everything about them. Q: What kinds of things did you learn about Lewis and Clark? GD: The most striking thing I learned was about the tragic circumstances of Meriwether Lewis himself. I never knew he had shot himself. Or about his close relationship with Thomas Jefferson, for whom he was a secretary. And the details of their incredibly arduous journey into the unknown – with only a single casualty. It was a wildly successful journey, something that would have been comparable to Neil Armstrong landing on the moon in the last century. Q: Lewis’s life in so many ways parallels that of your character, on a personal level. GD: Absolutely. That’s something that both Justin and I were taken with, and something Justin has masterfully written into the script, in an unobvious way – he leaves it to the audience to spot, without connecting the dots for them. My character, Lewis, with the derailment of his book and everything, has a fear that his life will come to a tragic end like Meriwether’s. He begins wondering the same thing that the explorer did – What have I done? What have I contributed? We all have this need or calling to make a mark in the world. Meriwether’s never came until after his death. He quickly became a forgotten man until then. Q: Your own career had a lot of early successes – did you relate in that sense to your character? GD: I certainly did. It’s been quite some time since I had a role where I was the central figure. A lot of my energy has gone into producing and directing – leading roles in my age range don’t come by that often, like they do when you’re in your 20s and early 30s. Lewis probably came out of the gate really strong early in his career, as a young professor, filled with promise. And life deals you a lot of joy, as well as a lot of setbacks. He’s like so many of my peers, asking himself, “Are my best years behind me? Can I do my best work in the time I’ve got left?” It’s an interesting thing to explore, and a subtext that carried me through the film. Q: And how did that personally resonate? GD: I rediscovered my passion for acting in The Discoverers. Playing this guy who was my age, who is a father, as I am, who'd been working a long time in a field - I don't know if you can equate movies to being a historian - but there are certainly trends - it's certainly an uncertain future being an academic and being a filmmaker of any kind in this day and age. So there was a lot to work from. And the script and the story is very much about adjusting to new chapters in your life so it was kind of nice to have that parallel of a part in a movie and go through that in a personal way as well. I’ve had two very strong acts, first as an actor and then as a director, and I feel a third one coming on. So there's a certain kind of quality of the script where this guy is going through changes in his life and you know his children have grown up, did have enough of a connection to them, has he done enough - Lewis - in his life and in his work to make an impact - and have I - this is the kind of stuff that people think about once they're somewhere into their fifties, so it was kind of like two trains running on the journey of playing this guy and on the journey the character went through. Q: You were fortunate to get to work with a fantastic veteran character actor, Stuart Margolin, who plays your father, Stanley. GD: Stuart is actually one of my oldest friends, though this is the first time we’ve had a chance to work together. He not only brought a ton of experience to the set, but even though he was working on a film with a smaller budget, he totally dove into the character and completely invested himself in it. He approached it like a hungry young actor. The message from Stuart – by his example – is about staying in the game. You gotta bring your passion into your work, no matter where you are in your life. That was a wonderful energy for me to feel. Q: Your scenes with Cara Buono seem so natural together. What was it like working with her? GD: I was thrilled when I hear Cara Buono was cast because I had a huge crush on her from seeing her in Mad Men. I thought John Hamm's character really did her wrong. So I was thrilled to play a guy who would be pretty crazy about her. And it was very easy to do. She’s able to deliver such an incredible warmth – it was something I could feel even in our first scene together, at my mother’s funeral. It was nice to have that possibility of a romantic relationship for my character, and Cara just made it so easy. That warmth just comes right off of her. It was really easy to play having a crush on her. Q: Your daughter is played by the very funny Madeleine Martin (“Californication”). What were scenes with her like? GD: I laughed with her probably more than anyone. She has such a great laugh, and I would go to very cheap, dark places to make her laugh further. Her comic delivery is pretty incredible, particularly for an actor who’s so young. She just hears lines differently than other people. She has a completely unique way of delivering a line and getting a laugh out of a situation. And the way she does it is so effortless, which is the best way. She never goes for the laugh – the laugh comes to her. We actually got very close – it was as if she was really my daughter. She would look at me sometimes, particularly when our characters were in conflict, with an “I can’t believe this guy is my father” look of incredible disappointment. It was terrifyingly realistic. Q What was it like working with Devon Graye (“Dexter” and “American Horror Story”) who played your son? It was great to work with a guy who is at that period of his life in his career where he took everything so seriously. He hadn't done quite enough to be really jaded about it and really was interested in our history of my character and his characters history - what kind of father I was and what kind of son he was - so it was really great to have those conversations, his commitment was refreshing. Q: Your own daughter, Hannah, actually appears in the film. GD: She does, as one of my students in the beginning of the movie, we got a little scene together. It was her first SAG film, and it was fabulous of Justin to bring her onboard. She did a great job. Q: This Justin’s first time directing a feature film. What was your sense of him as a director, in terms of his style and approach? GD: I’ve worked with first-time directors before, and it’s usually their first film after film school or having made a short. But Justin was a fully-formed figure by the time his first movie came around. It was great to see someone who had written something and obviously had been living with it for such a long time really realize it and see his passion. He was very clear about what he wanted. He was very decisive and had a very clear picture in his head of what this movie was like. And he had such specific ideas in terms of the tone of Lewis Birch that it pushed me in directions that I wouldn't have occurred to go in, that were outside my comfort zone that were much more right for Lewis than for Griffin. So I think in that sense it put me in a good position. I always felt very comfortable on set and free to do a lot of stuff. He was much like a voyeur – he would watch the monitor and he’d know what was right when it was right. But he was also very open to any ideas we had. It was very, “You show me, and then we’ll play.” Q: Much of the film takes place in Idaho, with the re-enactors. Where was that shot, and what was it like to film on location? GD: That was filmed mostly around Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The locations were far away from where we were staying, with long drives to these isolated places. We walked and walked and walked – there are lots of scenes where Justin just filmed us walking, even without any lines. You just carry your musket and wear your furs. You actually quickly become attached to your musket – it very much felt like a period film, and like we were really “trekking.” Q: So it was pretty rustic. GD: Definitely so. We’d change clothes in one tent, and do a scene in another. Our base camps were in small towns – we traveled around a lot. It was a lot like doing theater earlier in my career, being in a preschool or something and changing clothes behind some flats they’d put up. We had cots, where we’d lie down and rest during lunch – and then put on our coonskin caps and grab our muskets and go out and shot some more scenes. It was very humbling for people used to having trailers! It was pretty low to the ground – it was pretty funny. Q And the area you shot in Oregon had a personal significance? I'd never been that far up the coast of Oregon. When I saw where we going to, where the cliffs are at the very end, it was quite a moment for me because it was just outside the area St. Helens, where my father -- who when were shooting the movie had just died the previous year-- lived. When I first moved to New York in the seventies and early eighties, he had gone broke, had to change his own life and go on his own journey. And he drove up the coast from Los Angeles and his car broke down in the town of St. Helens and he lived in this cabin for about a year or so. And he sort of taught himself how to write and became a novelist in this cabin. And we were shooting right near there. And I was really struck by the irony of me playing a guy who's kind of the journey of his life and shooting the final - I guess his insightful moment - right the very town where he went to have that very moment. Q What do you think audiences will relate to in the film? GD: I noticed that people like families and they liked screwed up families. What's that expression - show me a happy family and I'll show you a boring story - well this is not a boring story. This film has a tremendous amount of heart. All the characters have a great deal of heart. And they all kind of wear their heart on their sleeve and the heart gets really dusty and dirty on this trek on this messy, dirty, funny trek. With the films of like Wes Anderson or something like Little Miss Sunshine I think when you see very appealing, very confused people who are sensitive and wanting to either find their voice or their direction in life or grapple with what love means, I think if it is done in a really engaging way there is a very wide audience for it. Because it's usually told by a filmmaker who has a very unique voice and Royal Tennebaums and Little Miss Sunshine are not the same voice and The Discoverers is not that voice but they are all three unique under the umbrella of being really funny and appealing, having characters that you really care about. Q: What did you learn about re-enactors from doing the film? GD: Before the movie, I kind of thought of them as a bit of a joke, like when I’d see them on the History Channel. They’re an odd group, and Justin dealt with them in a very sweet way in the script. They were all misfits, but shared a real passion for a remarkable journey in American history that isn’t fully appreciated. There are people that have a passion that is so particular – there’s probably no one else they can talk to about it, except each other. I came to appreciate their passion, and was quite touched by it. Q: What did you learn from the whole experience, the whole journey Lewis takes with his family? GD: That we’re all still works in progress. You have to stay in the game. If you reflect and dwell on your past in an unsatisfactory way, your life is already over. You have to keep pushing yourself and dig deeper. Otherwise, you might as well give up. Lewis goes through all this and comes through on the other side, not having given up. Instead, he’s realized that while the route he had always envisioned for himself didn’t end up happening, there’s still a route for him. And he’s on it now. I've been fortunate enough to start off as an actor and then go into producing and directing and I'd say doubly fortunate to have at this point in my life this incredible part that was just sort of sent to me out of the blue. And it was kind of great to just go in, have such a demanding part, and use so much of my life and experience that I could apply. It was really a unique experience and overall it’s a part I’m most proud of playing.