Local News http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm Mon, 20 May 2013 17:11:02 GMT http://bandzoogle.com Monday Morning Art: Happy Couples http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4312135 <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Img_7292.jpg"> <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Img_7281.png">Last night <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/130354077157291/?ref=14">Dr. Sketchy&#8217;s Anti-Art School held a session at Uncork and Create with a special theme, Marriage Equality. All the tips and proceeds from print sales were going to help fund a wedding trip for one of the models, Lavender Menace, so she and her fiancee can travel to a state with more enlightened laws to get legally married. Above we have the happy couple, and after the jump you can see some more quick digital paintings featuring Vorel Sakrany with Ophelia Darc, Cat Schrodinger with Kitty Killton and Leo Tuxedo, as Cupid. Click the images to see bigger versions. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Img_7163001.jpg"> <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Img_7171.jpg"> <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Img_7189.jpg">

Last night Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School held a session at Uncork and Create with a special theme, Marriage Equality. All the tips and proceeds from print sales were going to help fund a wedding trip for one of the models, Lavender Menace, so she and her fiancee can travel to a state with more enlightened laws to get legally married.

Above we have the happy couple, and after the jump you can see some more quick digital paintings featuring Vorel Sakrany with Ophelia Darc, Cat Schrodinger with Kitty Killton and Leo Tuxedo, as Cupid. Click the images to see bigger versions.

]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 17:11:02 GMT A5B8D1DD6EA71328B6DF90C98B960414 Sunday Evening Video: Zero Zero http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4306799 Back in December, 2010, I brought you <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/2010/12/26/sunday-evening-videos-mike-batt/">several music videos by Mike Batt, a composer and performer of whom I have have been a fan for a very long time. When I posted that item, I lamented the unavailability of my favorite work of his, a &#8220;Video Fantasy&#8221; called &#8220;Zero Zero&#8221; in the US. Zero Zero is a New Wave/orchestral hybrid of a ballet with a long-form music video. It tells a story set in a futuristic dystopian society where love has been declared a mental disorder and is systematically eliminated. I discovered it among the many treasures aired in the early days of the USA Network program, &#8220;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Flight_(TV_series)">Night Flight.&#8221; I was familiar with the music, but the visuals, including dance, animation and a wild set design, were mind-blowing. I hadn&#8217;t seen Zero Zero since it last aired on Night Flight around thirty years ago. Just a few days ago, <a href="http://madhouserag.com/">Mike Batt graciously posted the entire work, in remastered form no less, to YouTube. That&#8217;s it you see at the top of this post. Please enjoy Mike Batt with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, performing Zero Zero.

Back in December, 2010, I brought you several music videos by Mike Batt, a composer and performer of whom I have have been a fan for a very long time. When I posted that item, I lamented the unavailability of my favorite work of his, a “Video Fantasy” called “Zero Zero” in the US.

Zero Zero is a New Wave/orchestral hybrid of a ballet with a long-form music video. It tells a story set in a futuristic dystopian society where love has been declared a mental disorder and is systematically eliminated. I discovered it among the many treasures aired in the early days of the USA Network program, “Night Flight.” I was familiar with the music, but the visuals, including dance, animation and a wild set design, were mind-blowing. I hadn’t seen Zero Zero since it last aired on Night Flight around thirty years ago.

Just a few days ago, Mike Batt graciously posted the entire work, in remastered form no less, to YouTube. That’s it you see at the top of this post. Please enjoy Mike Batt with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, performing Zero Zero.

]]> Sun, 19 May 2013 18:04:17 GMT B712CBD139371AED800C8D5FC41E8738 Stuff To Do http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4298538 <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/please-stand-by.png">The PopCulteer May 17, 2013 Stuff To Do We&#8217;re still not fully functional here at PopCult Central, so this week we&#8217;re just going to bring you a few flyers and tell you where some bands are playing, although we don&#8217;t have cover charges or start times for everyone. Bear with us, please&#8230; The big thing this weekend for your Popculteer is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/130354077157291/?ref=14">Dr. Sketchy&#8217;s Anti-Art School, which is shifting over to Uncork and Create this month for a celebration of marriage for everyone! Proceeds from the tip jar go to help pay for a trip to DC for a happy young couple, who cannot yet tie the knot here, to get married. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/945280_10100468571366443_1292618944_n.png"> Another biggie is HarraH and The AK 40 Sexuals tonight at The Sound Factory&#8230; <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/harrah-show-flyer-5-13.jpg"> Friday Keep in mind that the Charly West Blues Fest is happening tonight and tomorrow at Haddad Riverfront park, and traffic downtown will be the kind that raises your blood pressure. Leave early and try to be patient if you&#8217;re headed that way. The Boatmen will be at The Boulevard Tavern. Tofujitsu will be at Taylor Books. Sam&#8217;s Uptown Cafe plays host to Beggar&#8217;s Clan. Saturday Heart of Appalachia Roller Derby hosts the First Settlement Derby Dames&#8217; Hades Ladies of Marietta, Ohio, in a benefit bout for the the West Virginia Chapter of the American Heart Association! Doors open at 5PM, action at 6PM. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 5-12 in advance. $12/$6 at the door. The bout takes place at the West Virginia National Guard Armory (Coonskin Dr.),with an afterparty at Vandalia Grill The No Pants Players, West Virginia's premier improv comedy troupe, returns this Saturday, May 18, to the Alban Arts and Conference Center (65 Olde Main Street, St. Albans, WV) and will bring a few friends along to add to the hilarity--an opening performance by Jeff Bukovinsky's Adult Improv Class and a brand new No Pants Player will be introduced. This will be an "All-Ages" show, so the whole family is invited. The opening act will begin at 6:50 PM and the No Pants Players will take the stage at 7 PM. Tickets are on sale now and are $8 for kids and $10 for adults. Tofujitsu will perform at the East End Mains Street Bazaar, from Noon until 3 PM. Spurgie Hankins Band will put on a FREE SHOW at The So0und Factory, starting at 9 PM. Comparsa will be at The Empty Glass starting at 10 PM, for the usual sliding cover. The Bark-O-Loungers with opening act, Michael Pushkin, will be at Sam&#8217;s Uptown Cafe, starting at 10 PM. Sunday Chris and Denise Chaber, of The Empty Glass, are hosting their 5th annual benefit for JDRF, and we want to make this the biggest one yet! As some of you know, Jordan, their 9 year old son, is a diabetic, and they need your help. There is a JDRF Walk at the capitol starting at Noon. If you want to be a part of it, you can go to JDRF.org and find the team &#8220;Walking For Jordan&#8221; and register. Later on that night, The Glass will have live music starting at 8:00 PM, and going on all night long. There will also be a silent auction on items donated from local businesses and artists. All proceeds made at the door, and from the auction, will go to JDRF to help find a cure. There is a minimum donation of $7.00 at the door. The musical lineup includes: Donnie Smith @ 8:00, Comparsa @ 9:00, Spurgie Hankins Band @ 10:00, 600lbs of Sin @ 11:00, Tommy&#8217;s Triple Threat Blues Revue @ 12:00 and Beggars Clan @ 1:00. PopCult is slowly returning to what passes for &#8220;normal.&#8221; Check back next week. The PopCulteer
May 17, 2013

Stuff To Do

We’re still not fully functional here at PopCult Central, so this week we’re just going to bring you a few flyers and tell you where some bands are playing, although we don’t have cover charges or start times for everyone. Bear with us, please…

The big thing this weekend for your Popculteer is Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, which is shifting over to Uncork and Create this month for a celebration of marriage for everyone! Proceeds from the tip jar go to help pay for a trip to DC for a happy young couple, who cannot yet tie the knot here, to get married.

Another biggie is HarraH and The AK 40 Sexuals tonight at The Sound Factory…

Friday

Keep in mind that the Charly West Blues Fest is happening tonight and tomorrow at Haddad Riverfront park, and traffic downtown will be the kind that raises your blood pressure. Leave early and try to be patient if you’re headed that way.

The Boatmen will be at The Boulevard Tavern. Tofujitsu will be at Taylor Books. Sam’s Uptown Cafe plays host to Beggar’s Clan.

Saturday

Heart of Appalachia Roller Derby hosts the First Settlement Derby Dames’ Hades Ladies of Marietta, Ohio, in a benefit bout for the the West Virginia Chapter of the American Heart Association! Doors open at 5PM, action at 6PM. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 5-12 in advance. $12/$6 at the door. The bout takes place at the West Virginia National Guard Armory (Coonskin Dr.),with an afterparty at Vandalia Grill

The No Pants Players, West Virginia?s premier improv comedy troupe, returns this Saturday, May 18, to the Alban Arts and Conference Center (65 Olde Main Street, St. Albans, WV) and will bring a few friends along to add to the hilarity?an opening performance by Jeff Bukovinsky?s Adult Improv Class and a brand new No Pants Player will be introduced. This will be an ?All-Ages? show, so the whole family is invited. The opening act will begin at 6:50 PM and the No Pants Players will take the stage at 7 PM. Tickets are on sale now and are $8 for kids and $10 for adults.

Tofujitsu will perform at the East End Mains Street Bazaar, from Noon until 3 PM.

Spurgie Hankins Band will put on a FREE SHOW at The So0und Factory, starting at 9 PM.

Comparsa will be at The Empty Glass starting at 10 PM, for the usual sliding cover.

The Bark-O-Loungers with opening act, Michael Pushkin, will be at Sam’s Uptown Cafe, starting at 10 PM.

Sunday

Chris and Denise Chaber, of The Empty Glass, are hosting their 5th annual benefit for JDRF, and we want to make this the biggest one yet! As some of you know, Jordan, their 9 year old son, is a diabetic, and they need your help. There is a JDRF Walk at the capitol starting at Noon. If you want to be a part of it, you can go to JDRF.org and find the team “Walking For Jordan” and register.

Later on that night, The Glass will have live music starting at 8:00 PM, and going on all night long. There will also be a silent auction on items donated from local businesses and artists. All proceeds made at the door, and from the auction, will go to JDRF to help find a cure. There is a minimum donation of $7.00 at the door.

The musical lineup includes: Donnie Smith @ 8:00, Comparsa @ 9:00, Spurgie Hankins Band @ 10:00, 600lbs of Sin @ 11:00, Tommy’s Triple Threat Blues Revue @ 12:00 and Beggars Clan @ 1:00.

PopCult is slowly returning to what passes for “normal.” Check back next week.

]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 19:22:00 GMT D80E7D06F1866FAD6539DEEF2D41AF3A Monday Night Open-Mic Competition Review http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4294412 Editorial by Jordan Pauley &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Monday Open-Mic's have long been a staple at Charleston's "World-Famous" Empty Glass. As it's hosts shifted, so did the show evolve; acts changed but the crowd not so much. Always preserving that genuine dive bar feel, no other venue in the area captures quite what the Empty Glass does: the distinct feel, the lack of certain identity among the crowd and ultimately the eclectic group of local musicians who take the stage every week, spilling their guts to friends and strangers alike. Yes, the Empty Glass is quite unique however no local music scene is complete without a place like it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This time around host Donnie Smith has implemented a competition, gathering musicians from around the area, as well as acts from as far away as Boone and Logan Counties. Not only did the evening feature music, but local artists Matt Wallace, Leah Towler, Project Biscotti and Jessica Cha had a chance to display their talents by showcasing some of their artwork. With help from bartender Terry Taylor, the idea came to fruition and with sponsorships from The Empty Glass, Pies and Pints and Charleston Underground a fantastic array of prizes has been put together to help these "starving artists" pursue their dreams. Ranging from gift certificates from Pies and Pints, a paid show at The Empty Glass and promotional packages from Charleston Underground--these prizes are sure to provide that certain something, to bring forth the best of these local musicians. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The competition is a collective effort. Each of the eight contestants will be performing on three consecutive Mondays. Each vote will be tallied at the end of the night and the act receiving the most votes from all three of their performances will be declared the winner. Think American Idol sans the soulless promotion... that and true performances from true artists.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Although not greatly varying in style, each act brought a unique flavor to the stage. In front of one of the largest open-mic crowds I've ever seen at any bar, each performer gave it their all; this time not only for the typical open-mic exposure and reception but to be judged by the crowd.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The first act of the evening was Brandi Good, opening with a brand new song. Her voice caught my attention from the beginning. Hints of country, blues and even a taste of 90's alternative/pop, reminiscent of solo Eddie Vedder with a splash of Duncan Sheik.&nbsp; A soulful singer and a skilled guitarist, I found Brandi's performance quite enjoyable.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mark Bates from Hurricane found his way to the state next, bringing some unexpected country flair to the night. Although a couple of pop-like songs found their way in his set, Mark's true calling is country. His incredible rendition of George Jones' version of "May the Circle Be Unbroken" said it all. True West Virginia spirit.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Local guitarist Ryan Wright performed next. This guy can flat out play. Wearing John Lennon style sunglasses, he tried to hide his eyes while taking the stage for an emotionally charged set. Inspired by his guitar teacher and mentor battling illness, Ryan really shined. Intriguing guitar work and howling vocals made a great set that was played for Mike, not us.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Derek Bowen, a true showman form Chapmanville was our next act. Wow, this guy's got it all:&nbsp; amazing energy, musical talent, a fresh sound. Upbeat from the beginning, offering a nice change of pace thus far for the evening, he opened with an acoustic version of AC/DC's "TNT". This beer swilling, harmonica playing, Gallagher fashion inspired country boy reminded us all how beautiful we were... and how talented he is.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Five-piece band from Charleston, No Pretty Pictures, set up and displayed their talents next. A fairly new act in town, they feature a trombone player. An acoustic pop/punk style act, with more rehearsal these guys could be on to something.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Our next performers are tough to describe. Novelty? Grunge? Punk? Comedy? Who knows, but these Boone County natives are something else. Each song was like a two minute punch in the gut, with topics ranging from jacking in mama's bed (the actual song title) to how much they hate everybody. These guys are as fresh and original as they come. If Kurt Cobain and Stephen Lynch had a love-child it would sound like Project Biscotti.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Area open mic regular Jody Herndon found his way to the stage next. His Dylan-esque style with a 90's alternative touch is easy to listen to. I love this guy's harmonica work, and his featured guitarist, Dylan Burkhammer, put simply can fucking wail.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Originally from Baltimore, our last act Alex Good brought the first electric instrument to the table. Dude can play; reminiscent of Rick Perdue he had a knack for looping. Although a great guitarist I felt a lack of originality compared to the rest of the acts. On the other hand, that may come with time.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This, ladies and gentlemen, was as good of an open mic night I've ever seen. A great crowd, a showcase for all local artists and a legendary venue; this performance had it all. It seems Donnie has unleashed a new force on the local open mic scene, adding more intrigue and interest to the concept, giving people REAL motive to give it their all. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The final round of The Empty Glass Open Mic competition will be held Monday May 20th. Please make your way out to support all of these wonderful LOCAL musicians. These guys are really doing it all for you. Until next time, this is JP for Charleston Underground.&nbsp;
Editorial by Jordan Pauley            



               Monday Open-Mic?s have long been a staple at Charleston?s ?World-Famous? Empty Glass. As it?s hosts shifted, so did the show evolve; acts changed but the crowd not so much. Always preserving that genuine dive bar feel, no other venue in the area captures quite what the Empty Glass does: the distinct feel, the lack of certain identity among the crowd and ultimately the eclectic group of local musicians who take the stage every week, spilling their guts to friends and strangers alike. Yes, the Empty Glass is quite unique however no local music scene is complete without a place like it.
                This time around host Donnie Smith has implemented a competition, gathering musicians from around the area, as well as acts from as far away as Boone and Logan Counties. Not only did the evening feature music, but local artists Matt Wallace, Leah Towler, Project Biscotti and Jessica Cha had a chance to display their talents by showcasing some of their artwork. With help from bartender Terry Taylor, the idea came to fruition and with sponsorships from The Empty Glass, Pies and Pints and Charleston Underground a fantastic array of prizes has been put together to help these ?starving artists? pursue their dreams. Ranging from gift certificates from Pies and Pints, a paid show at The Empty Glass and promotional packages from Charleston Underground--these prizes are sure to provide that certain something, to bring forth the best of these local musicians.
                The competition is a collective effort. Each of the eight contestants will be performing on three consecutive Mondays. Each vote will be tallied at the end of the night and the act receiving the most votes from all three of their performances will be declared the winner. Think American Idol sans the soulless promotion? that and true performances from true artists.
                Although not greatly varying in style, each act brought a unique flavor to the stage. In front of one of the largest open-mic crowds I?ve ever seen at any bar, each performer gave it their all; this time not only for the typical open-mic exposure and reception but to be judged by the crowd.
                The first act of the evening was Brandi Good, opening with a brand new song. Her voice caught my attention from the beginning. Hints of country, blues and even a taste of 90?s alternative/pop, reminiscent of solo Eddie Vedder with a splash of Duncan Sheik.  A soulful singer and a skilled guitarist, I found Brandi?s performance quite enjoyable.
                Mark Bates from Hurricane found his way to the state next, bringing some unexpected country flair to the night. Although a couple of pop-like songs found their way in his set, Mark?s true calling is country. His incredible rendition of George Jones? version of ?May the Circle Be Unbroken? said it all. True West Virginia spirit.
                Local guitarist Ryan Wright performed next. This guy can flat out play. Wearing John Lennon style sunglasses, he tried to hide his eyes while taking the stage for an emotionally charged set. Inspired by his guitar teacher and mentor battling illness, Ryan really shined. Intriguing guitar work and howling vocals made a great set that was played for Mike, not us.
                Derek Bowen, a true showman form Chapmanville was our next act. Wow, this guy?s got it all:  amazing energy, musical talent, a fresh sound. Upbeat from the beginning, offering a nice change of pace thus far for the evening, he opened with an acoustic version of AC/DC?s ?TNT?. This beer swilling, harmonica playing, Gallagher fashion inspired country boy reminded us all how beautiful we were? and how talented he is.
                Five-piece band from Charleston, No Pretty Pictures, set up and displayed their talents next. A fairly new act in town, they feature a trombone player. An acoustic pop/punk style act, with more rehearsal these guys could be on to something.
                Our next performers are tough to describe. Novelty? Grunge? Punk? Comedy? Who knows, but these Boone County natives are something else. Each song was like a two minute punch in the gut, with topics ranging from jacking in mama?s bed (the actual song title) to how much they hate everybody. These guys are as fresh and original as they come. If Kurt Cobain and Stephen Lynch had a love-child it would sound like Project Biscotti.
                Area open mic regular Jody Herndon found his way to the stage next. His Dylan-esque style with a 90?s alternative touch is easy to listen to. I love this guy?s harmonica work, and his featured guitarist, Dylan Burkhammer, put simply can fucking wail.
                Originally from Baltimore, our last act Alex Good brought the first electric instrument to the table. Dude can play; reminiscent of Rick Perdue he had a knack for looping. Although a great guitarist I felt a lack of originality compared to the rest of the acts. On the other hand, that may come with time.
                This, ladies and gentlemen, was as good of an open mic night I?ve ever seen. A great crowd, a showcase for all local artists and a legendary venue; this performance had it all. It seems Donnie has unleashed a new force on the local open mic scene, adding more intrigue and interest to the concept, giving people REAL motive to give it their all.
                The final round of The Empty Glass Open Mic competition will be held Monday May 20th. Please make your way out to support all of these wonderful LOCAL musicians. These guys are really doing it all for you. Until next time, this is JP for Charleston Underground. 
]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 07:18:00 GMT 88931CADC92DCA4EC26BBA2D05523F22 ArtWalk Tonight http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4290010 <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/may-artwalk-map.png">I may not be able to go, but that doesn&#8217;t mean that you shouldn&#8217;t. Here&#8217;s a handy map to this month&#8217;s Downtown Charleston ArtWalk. I may not be able to go, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. Here’s a handy map to this month’s Downtown Charleston ArtWalk.

]]> Thu, 16 May 2013 19:24:17 GMT DAE3747120B9416D8DA4EC1F75D1B02D We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4289271 <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/aastandby.png">You may be wondering where the regular PopCult features went this week. We missed the PopCult Toybox and The PopCult Bookshelf. There&#8217;s a funny story about that. Sunday evening, the battery backup for your PopCulteer&#8217;s computer system blowed up. It blowed up real good. After extinguishing the battery backup and relocating everything plugged into it, it was discovered that the reliable workhorse PC that we use for PopCult and Radio Free Charleston had reverted to paperweight mode. I had already posted Sunday Evening Video and Monday Morning Art for this week (including an embarrassing typo in the headline that went uncorrected until this morning), but I was looking at the very real possibility of having lost months worth of work during a week where I&#8217;m facing pressing deadlines on non-PopCult-related projects. This happened on Sunday night, too late to go any store to find what I needed to fix it, and I had commitments that kept me away from doing anything from Monday morning to Wednesday night. Long story short: I was able to fix the PC using paper clips and chewing gum (and a new power supply from Computers Plus&#8211;thanks guys), and it&#8217;s working for the moment. Production of Radio Free Charleston will be migrating to a bright, shiny new quad-core system, and setting that up will take some time, so RFC is going on vacation for a couple of weeks. Since your PopCulteer has another commitment tonight, a magazine deadline that has been graciously extended to Friday and a submission due next week for the East End Main Street Streetworks 2014 project, PopCult will still be running at a diminished capacity. It&#8217;s unlikely that I will be able to cover ArtWalk this month, since it&#8217;s today and I&#8217;m still rebuilding, and the PopCult Toybox and Bookshelf will probably take next week off. But after we get all the bugs ironed out, everything should be hunky-dory and PopCult will be better than ever. You may be wondering where the regular PopCult features went this week. We missed the PopCult Toybox and The PopCult Bookshelf. There’s a funny story about that.

Sunday evening, the battery backup for your PopCulteer’s computer system blowed up. It blowed up real good. After extinguishing the battery backup and relocating everything plugged into it, it was discovered that the reliable workhorse PC that we use for PopCult and Radio Free Charleston had reverted to paperweight mode.

I had already posted Sunday Evening Video and Monday Morning Art for this week (including an embarrassing typo in the headline that went uncorrected until this morning), but I was looking at the very real possibility of having lost months worth of work during a week where I’m facing pressing deadlines on non-PopCult-related projects.

This happened on Sunday night, too late to go any store to find what I needed to fix it, and I had commitments that kept me away from doing anything from Monday morning to Wednesday night.

Long story short: I was able to fix the PC using paper clips and chewing gum (and a new power supply from Computers Plus–thanks guys), and it’s working for the moment. Production of Radio Free Charleston will be migrating to a bright, shiny new quad-core system, and setting that up will take some time, so RFC is going on vacation for a couple of weeks.

Since your PopCulteer has another commitment tonight, a magazine deadline that has been graciously extended to Friday and a submission due next week for the East End Main Street Streetworks 2014 project, PopCult will still be running at a diminished capacity. It’s unlikely that I will be able to cover ArtWalk this month, since it’s today and I’m still rebuilding, and the PopCult Toybox and Bookshelf will probably take next week off.

But after we get all the bugs ironed out, everything should be hunky-dory and PopCult will be better than ever.

]]> Thu, 16 May 2013 18:09:13 GMT CF2B3C3CFBF7733CC338E7A33B5F204B Definitely Loud Podcast - Episode #011 http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4275979 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DefLoud?directed_target_id=0">Definitely Loud Podcast Episode #011 has <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Amniaband?directed_target_id=0">Amnia (WV), <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FallBeforeYourCreator?directed_target_id=0">Fall Before Your Creator (WV), <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bilass/410741062348205?directed_target_id=0">Bilass (Canada), <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SpringboLives?directed_target_id=0">Springbo (IL) and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sykosismetal?directed_target_id=0">Sykosis (OH) - Check&#8217;em out! Bilass - Montreal, Canada "BB King" from the album "Late Dreamer" available on Reverbnation, iTunes, and more - <a class="c4" href="http://www.reverbnation.com/bilass/songs">http://www.reverbnation.com/bilass/songs <a class="c4" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/late-dreamer/id615720052">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/late-dreamer/id615720052 <a class="c4" href="http://www.reverbnation.com/bilass">http://www.reverbnation.com/bilass <a class="c4" href="http://tinyurl.com/bilass-fb">http://tinyurl.com/bilass-fb - Bilass on Facebook <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealBilass">https://twitter.com/TheRealBilass Fall Before Your Creator - Charleston, WV - USA "The Engineer" "Make a Move" from their EP "The Engineer" - Free Download <a class="c4" href="http://www.mediafire.com/?bnbc62gv6s5vk92">http://www.mediafire.com/?bnbc62gv6s5vk92 The Engineer by Fall Before Your Creator - YouTube: https://www.facebook.com/FallBeforeYourCreator http://www.reverbnation.com/fallbeforeyourcreator Springbo - Chicago, IL - USA "Fuck You Walt Disney" from his CD - "Songs for Grandma" <a class="c4" href="http://www.amazon.com/Songs-for-Grandma-Explicit/dp/B007M5PN58">http://www.amazon.com/Songs-for-Grandma-Explicit/dp/B007M5PN58 Download "Fuck You Walt Disney" by Springbo for FREE: <a class="c4" href="http://soundcloud.com/springbo/fuck-you-walt-disney">http://soundcloud.com/springbo/fuck-you-walt-disney Fuck You Walt Disney by Springbo - YouTube: https://www.facebook.com/SpringboLives <a class="c4" href="http://www.reverbnation.com/springbo">http://www.reverbnation.com/springbo Amnia - Huntington, WV - USA "Forget the Pain" Forget the Pain by Amnia - Youtube: <a class="c4" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1aLVvAUieA"> <a class="c4" href="http://www.youtube.com/amniaband">http://www.youtube.com/amniaband <a class="c4" href="https://www.facebook.com/Amniaband">https://www.facebook.com/Amniaband Sykosis - Ashtabula, OH "Shallow Graves" "Deception" Shallow Graves by Sykosis - YouTube: <a class="c4" href="http://youtu.be/zQTQ_8R_Ip4"> Deception by Sykosis - YouTube: <a class="c4" href="http://www.reverbnation.com/sykosis">http://www.reverbnation.com/sykosis <a class="c4" href="https://www.facebook.com/Sykosisohio">https://www.facebook.com/Sykosisohio <a class="c4" href="http://www.twitter.com/SYKOSISOHIO">http://www.twitter.com/SYKOSISOHIO Definitely Loud Podcast Episode #011 has Amnia (WV), Fall Before Your Creator (WV), Bilass (Canada), Springbo (IL) and Sykosis (OH) - Check’em out!

Bilass - Montreal, Canada

?BB King?

from the album ?Late Dreamer? available on Reverbnation, iTunes, and more - http://www.reverbnation.com/bilass/songs

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/late-dreamer/id615720052

Fall Before Your Creator - Charleston, WV - USA ?The Engineer? ?Make a Move?

from their EP ?The Engineer? - Free Download http://www.mediafire.com/?bnbc62gv6s5vk92

The Engineer by Fall Before Your Creator - YouTube:

  • https://www.facebook.com/FallBeforeYourCreator
  • http://www.reverbnation.com/fallbeforeyourcreator

Springbo - Chicago, IL - USA ?Fuck You Walt Disney?

from his CD - ?Songs for Grandma? http://www.amazon.com/Songs-for-Grandma-Explicit/dp/B007M5PN58

Download ?Fuck You Walt Disney? by Springbo for FREE: http://soundcloud.com/springbo/fuck-you-walt-disney

Fuck You Walt Disney by Springbo - YouTube:

Amnia - Huntington, WV - USA

?Forget the Pain?

Forget the Pain by Amnia - Youtube:

Sykosis - Ashtabula, OH

?Shallow Graves? ?Deception?

Shallow Graves by Sykosis - YouTube:

Deception by Sykosis - YouTube:

]]> Wed, 15 May 2013 05:21:52 GMT 5FDB2689DBDF284C31828D57237890FD Monday Morning Art: Harryhausen Tribute http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4261384 <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Ray-001.jpg">I grew up with an older brother who&#8217;d become obsessed with animation thanks, in large part, to the work of Ray Harryhausen, the stop-motion animation master who passed away last week at the age of 92. Harryhausen&#8217;s influence extended to me, and last week I decided to pay tribute to the man by doing something I hadn&#8217;t done much in recent years. I decided to try a detailed pencil sketch of one of his creations. I had to run around the house to find a good pencil, and I just sketched this on printer paper on a clipboard while staring intently at the computer monitor. Here&#8217;s the scene from the movie that inspired this sketch&#8230; It came out okay. I&#8217;m still not happy with part of it, but it&#8217;s not bad for my first actual pencil sketch in ages. I scanned it and tried to do a digital painting over it, but they didn&#8217;t really improve on the sketch. You can see a couple of tries at painting it after the jump, and you can click all the images to enlarge them. This humble little sketch of The Cyclops from &#8221;The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad&#8221; is my tribute to Ray Harryhausen, who inspired so many artists, animators and dreamers. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Ray-002.jpg">Digital oil painting <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Ray-003.jpg">Digital Impasto &nbsp; I grew up with an older brother who’d become obsessed with animation thanks, in large part, to the work of Ray Harryhausen, the stop-motion animation master who passed away last week at the age of 92. Harryhausen’s influence extended to me, and last week I decided to pay tribute to the man by doing something I hadn’t done much in recent years.

I decided to try a detailed pencil sketch of one of his creations. I had to run around the house to find a good pencil, and I just sketched this on printer paper on a clipboard while staring intently at the computer monitor.

Here’s the scene from the movie that inspired this sketch…

It came out okay. I’m still not happy with part of it, but it’s not bad for my first actual pencil sketch in ages. I scanned it and tried to do a digital painting over it, but they didn’t really improve on the sketch. You can see a couple of tries at painting it after the jump, and you can click all the images to enlarge them. This humble little sketch of The Cyclops from ”The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad” is my tribute to Ray Harryhausen, who inspired so many artists, animators and dreamers.

Digital oil painting

Digital Impasto

 

]]> Mon, 13 May 2013 10:00:38 GMT 8CC235D7913ACF9AE51E56777EBDD39A Sunday Evening Video: Kate Bush Cartoon http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4259955 <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/katebush_laketahoe.jpeg">Kate Bush From her 2012 album, &#8220;50 Words For Snow,&#8221; comes this video, directed by Kate Bush herself. This is considered animation, but it&#8217;s really shadow-puppetry, a sort of animation technique that first appeared in film during the silent era, but actually pre-dates film by centuries. &#8220;Eider Falls at Lake Tahoe&#8221; tells the story of al onld woman reuniting with her lost dog.

Kate Bush

From her 2012 album, “50 Words For Snow,” comes this video, directed by Kate Bush herself. This is considered animation, but it’s really shadow-puppetry, a sort of animation technique that first appeared in film during the silent era, but actually pre-dates film by centuries. “Eider Falls at Lake Tahoe” tells the story of al onld woman reuniting with her lost dog.

]]> Sun, 12 May 2013 22:12:33 GMT 00AC5E89F60D3EB5AE6A5FC34AF7CAAF Deron Sodaro, Molly Gene, A Bad Week For Heroes and Stuff To Do http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4245761 <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/558003_535521656500661_1824665257_n.png">The PopCulteer May 10, 2013 Lots of cool things happening in the PopCult universe this weekend, so let us get started, shall we? Deron Sodaro Benefit A few months ago Charleston&#8217;s bassist extraordinaire, Deron Sodaro, took ill with a ruptured appendix. Happily, Deron&#8217;s recovered nicely, but his wallet hasn&#8217;t. A Benefit to help him with his medical expenses will be held Friday Night at The Boulevard Tavern, starting at 6 PM. Ten bucks gets you in the door to see Spencer Elliott, Karen and Mike, Hillbilly Carnival, Comparsa, The VooDoo Katz, Mother Nang, C2J2 and The Git Down Crew. Deron will be playing with Mother Nang and The VooDoo Katz, and may very well jam with some of the other perfomers. It&#8217;s going to be a great night to help out one of the nicest guys and best musicians in town. Youse guys should go. Molly Gene at The Glass If you&#8217;re going to see Lyle Lovett at The Clay Center tonight, and want the evening to continue with more eclectic bluesy Americana, head over to The Empty Glass, where, at 10 PM, you will be treated to Molly Gene and the One Whoaman Band with The Ten Foot Polecats and Pepper Fandango. The show starts at 10 PM, with the Famous Empty Glass sliding five-dollar/seven dollar cover (save two bucks by getting there before 11 PM). Here, look what all the fuss is about&#8230; <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/tribituary.png">Top: Ray Harryhausen&#8217;s Ymir. Middle: Dan Adkins Conan. Bottom: Dean Jeffries&#8217; Monkeemobile Tri-bituary Your PopCulteer lost three heroes this week. These gentlemen inspired me and helped set me on my life-long path of Pop Culture fanatacism. Rather than attempt to eulogize these gentlemen properly, let me link to proper obits for master animator, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/05/09/181947528/remembering-monster-maker-ray-harryhausen">Ray Harryhausen, Silver Age Comic Art great, <a href="http://comicsbeat.com/rip-dan-adkins/">Dan Adkins and classic car customizer <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-dean-jeffries-20130509,0,340435.story">Dean Jeffries. I would write more, but words fail me. Stuff To Do Friday Free music includes George Brackens at Taylor Books at 7:30 PM (and apparently later at Charleston Brewery at 10 PM), Renegade Mary at Riverside Cafe in Winfield at 9 PM, and C&amp;S Railroad at Bruno&#8217;s at 9 PM. Ron Sowell&#8217;s Open Mic happens at Unity, with a five-dollar cover charge, knocked down to two bucks for performers, seniors and children. The music starts at 7:30 PM, with sign up at 7 PM. Stych N Tyme, Elysium and Linework hit the stage at The Blue Parrot at 8 PM, according to the event page. This metal explosion rocks so hard that they couldn&#8217;t list a cover charge, but five bucks is a good guess. Saturday The big free show is in Hamlin, at Lions Club Field, as Mudfest 2013 happens. From noon to 8 PM you can rock out to RFC faves HarraH, plus Everpulse, Born of Conviction, Relative Obscurity, Twist of Fate, Zeroking and In The Company of Wolves. Also for the cheap and cheap-at-heart, Tom Smith will be at Taylor Books from 7:30 PM to 9:30. In the land of the paying gigs, we have Miniature Giant, InFormation and The AK Forty Sexuals at the Sound Factory. The start time and cover charge are left to the imagination, but we&#8217;re guessing 10 PM and $5 would probably work. Elysium, Saprogen and The Key hit the stage at The Blue Parrot at 9 PM to celebrate the birthday of Jebus. Cover charge is $5. The Radio Free Charleston cameras will be on hand at The Empty Glass Saturday night to record Crystal Bright and The Silver Hands, Qiet and Trielement, starting at 10 PM with the infamous Empty Glass $5/$7 cover charge. That&#8217;s the quick rundown for this weekend. Don&#8217;t forget to check PopCult almost every damn day for fresh content of some sort or another. Radio Free Charleston 185 is scheduled to crash into the earth sometime Monday. The PopCulteer
May 10, 2013

Lots of cool things happening in the PopCult universe this weekend, so let us get started, shall we?

Deron Sodaro Benefit

A few months ago Charleston’s bassist extraordinaire, Deron Sodaro, took ill with a ruptured appendix. Happily, Deron’s recovered nicely, but his wallet hasn’t. A Benefit to help him with his medical expenses will be held Friday Night at The Boulevard Tavern, starting at 6 PM. Ten bucks gets you in the door to see Spencer Elliott, Karen and Mike, Hillbilly Carnival, Comparsa, The VooDoo Katz, Mother Nang, C2J2 and The Git Down Crew. Deron will be playing with Mother Nang and The VooDoo Katz, and may very well jam with some of the other perfomers.

It’s going to be a great night to help out one of the nicest guys and best musicians in town. Youse guys should go.

Molly Gene at The Glass

If you’re going to see Lyle Lovett at The Clay Center tonight, and want the evening to continue with more eclectic bluesy Americana, head over to The Empty Glass, where, at 10 PM, you will be treated to Molly Gene and the One Whoaman Band with The Ten Foot Polecats and Pepper Fandango. The show starts at 10 PM, with the Famous Empty Glass sliding five-dollar/seven dollar cover (save two bucks by getting there before 11 PM).

Here, look what all the fuss is about…

Top: Ray Harryhausen’s Ymir. Middle: Dan Adkins Conan. Bottom: Dean Jeffries’ Monkeemobile

Tri-bituary

Your PopCulteer lost three heroes this week. These gentlemen inspired me and helped set me on my life-long path of Pop Culture fanatacism.

Rather than attempt to eulogize these gentlemen properly, let me link to proper obits for master animator, Ray Harryhausen, Silver Age Comic Art great, Dan Adkins and classic car customizer Dean Jeffries.

I would write more, but words fail me.

Stuff To Do

Friday

Free music includes George Brackens at Taylor Books at 7:30 PM (and apparently later at Charleston Brewery at 10 PM), Renegade Mary at Riverside Cafe in Winfield at 9 PM, and C&S Railroad at Bruno’s at 9 PM.

Ron Sowell’s Open Mic happens at Unity, with a five-dollar cover charge, knocked down to two bucks for performers, seniors and children. The music starts at 7:30 PM, with sign up at 7 PM.

Stych N Tyme, Elysium and Linework hit the stage at The Blue Parrot at 8 PM, according to the event page. This metal explosion rocks so hard that they couldn’t list a cover charge, but five bucks is a good guess.

Saturday

The big free show is in Hamlin, at Lions Club Field, as Mudfest 2013 happens. From noon to 8 PM you can rock out to RFC faves HarraH, plus Everpulse, Born of Conviction, Relative Obscurity, Twist of Fate, Zeroking and In The Company of Wolves.

Also for the cheap and cheap-at-heart, Tom Smith will be at Taylor Books from 7:30 PM to 9:30.

In the land of the paying gigs, we have Miniature Giant, InFormation and The AK Forty Sexuals at the Sound Factory. The start time and cover charge are left to the imagination, but we’re guessing 10 PM and $5 would probably work. Elysium, Saprogen and The Key hit the stage at The Blue Parrot at 9 PM to celebrate the birthday of Jebus. Cover charge is $5.

The Radio Free Charleston cameras will be on hand at The Empty Glass Saturday night to record Crystal Bright and The Silver Hands, Qiet and Trielement, starting at 10 PM with the infamous Empty Glass $5/$7 cover charge.

That’s the quick rundown for this weekend. Don’t forget to check PopCult almost every damn day for fresh content of some sort or another. Radio Free Charleston 185 is scheduled to crash into the earth sometime Monday.

]]> Fri, 10 May 2013 10:00:28 GMT 60D393DA366F5D5BDB26EA34244C6ED1 The Man Who Was A Turtle http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4237715 The PopCult Bookshelf <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/shell_shocked02.png">Shell Shocked My life with the Turtles, Flo &amp; Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc. by Howard Kaylan with Jeff Tamarkin Foreword by Penn Jillette Backbeat Books ISBN: 978-1-61780-846-3 $24.99 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HowardKaylanShellShocked">Shell Shocked is an amazing autobiography. <a href="http://www.howardkaylan.com/">Howard Kaylan has had an incredible, almost &#8220;Zelig&#8221; like career, with almost fifty years in show business in one form or another. From being a teen pop sensation as the lead vocalist for The Turtles, to backing up musicians such as Frank Zappa, Marc Bolan, Alice Cooper, John Lennon, and Bruce Springsteen, to writing comedy, co-hosting a hit radio show, creating music for classic cartoons or writing science fiction, Kaylan has done it all. There&#8217;s a lot more to Shell Shocked than the story of the song, &#8220;Happy Together.&#8221; <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/019.png">Kaylan today, with an old Turtles album This book chronicles his remarkable journey through life: the ups and downs, five marriages, two kids, legal wrangling that kept him from using his own name and loads of wild rock-and-roll adventures, complete with drugs, sex, gunplay, more sex and brushes with icons of the music and entertainment world. There are loads of tales of groupie sex, and a now-repentent Kaylan continually apologizes for being a rat with women. Shell Shocked takes us from Kaylan&#8217;s days as a Turtle to his years as half of Flo and Eddie to his later careers with and without his longtime partner, Mark Volman. This book cuts loose with rapid-fire non-stop action. It&#8217;s almost like listening to Kaylan relate his life story, in great detail, after ingesting too many amphetimines. The details, taken from years of Kaylan&#8217;s diaries, are so fascinating that you almost miss out on being star-struck by the famous people he&#8217;s known in his life. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/tumblr_lmjqevWCPe1qbjiaso1_500.png">With his musical collaborator, Mark Volman, in a photo not included in the book At one point, Kaylan tells about meeting up with Graham Nash in London, listening to an advance copy of &#8220;Sgt. Pepper&#8217;s Lonely Heart&#8217;s Club Band.&#8221; meeting John, Paul and Ringo in a nightclub (Lennon was a jerk), running into Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones and hanging out with Jones and Jimi Hendrix until Kaylan indulges too much and throws up on Hendrix. And that all happened on the same night. Along the way, Kaylan makes more than a few bad business decisions. He and his bandmates sign a record deal as a group and individuals, and when they wind up suing their record company for cooking the books, he finds himself legally prohibited from recording under his own name for a few years. While this is going on, he turns down a job as the lead vocalist of a new group because they only wanted him and not his musical partner, Mark Volman. Steely Dan would have to go on without him. The breakneck pace of this book leads to stories of so many collaborators and celebrity encounters that you don&#8217;t realize until you&#8217;re finished that you&#8217;ve just read a book that includes Frank Zappa, Ed Sullivan, Howard Stern, Strawberry Shortcake, Philip K. Dick, Harry Nillson, Bob Marley, John Belushi, David Bowie, The Amazing Randi, Linda Rondstadt and Billy West. That&#8217;s just the tip of the iceberg. Shell Shocked is a name-dropper&#8217;s delight. The Turtles years are a big part of Shell Shocked, both the 1960s and their 1980s concert revival tours. We get a great portrait of the California rock scene in the 1960s. Also of note is Kaylan&#8217;s insight as a member of Frank Zappa and The Mothers. This includes his account of the night that a fan with a flare gun burned down the hotel where The Mothers were playing, an incident immortalized in the Deep Purple song, &#8220;Smoke On The Water.&#8221; <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/kaylanzappa.png">With Frank Zapp and The Mothers in front of The Royal Albert Hall Kaylan has had a fantastic life and this book is a spectacular chronicle of it. It&#8217;s hard to say how much credit should go to his co-writer, Jeff Tamarkin, a legendary rock journalist in his own right. From beginning to end Shell Shocked reads like Howard Kaylan&#8217;s authentic voice, telling his story in an overwhelmingly engaging and entertaining fashion. That&#8217;s a good indication that Tamarkin did a perfect job helping bring Kaylan&#8217;s unadulterated story to the printed page. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/howardkaylan.png">1970s era Howard Kaylan Shell Shocked is a fun read. it&#8217;s upbeat and optimistic, even when dealing with dark moments like Kaylan&#8217;s failed marriages, bad business deals, and the deaths of his parents, friends and mentors. This book is simply utterly charming. Highly recommended for fans of 1960s and 70s music, or anyone who enjoys a good life story. The PopCult Bookshelf

Shell Shocked
My life with the Turtles, Flo & Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.

by Howard Kaylan with Jeff Tamarkin
Foreword by Penn Jillette
Backbeat Books
ISBN: 978-1-61780-846-3
$24.99

Shell Shocked is an amazing autobiography. Howard Kaylan has had an incredible, almost “Zelig” like career, with almost fifty years in show business in one form or another. From being a teen pop sensation as the lead vocalist for The Turtles, to backing up musicians such as Frank Zappa, Marc Bolan, Alice Cooper, John Lennon, and Bruce Springsteen, to writing comedy, co-hosting a hit radio show, creating music for classic cartoons or writing science fiction, Kaylan has done it all. There’s a lot more to Shell Shocked than the story of the song, “Happy Together.”

Kaylan today, with an old Turtles album

This book chronicles his remarkable journey through life: the ups and downs, five marriages, two kids, legal wrangling that kept him from using his own name and loads of wild rock-and-roll adventures, complete with drugs, sex, gunplay, more sex and brushes with icons of the music and entertainment world.

There are loads of tales of groupie sex, and a now-repentent Kaylan continually apologizes for being a rat with women.

Shell Shocked takes us from Kaylan’s days as a Turtle to his years as half of Flo and Eddie to his later careers with and without his longtime partner, Mark Volman.

This book cuts loose with rapid-fire non-stop action. It’s almost like listening to Kaylan relate his life story, in great detail, after ingesting too many amphetimines. The details, taken from years of Kaylan’s diaries, are so fascinating that you almost miss out on being star-struck by the famous people he’s known in his life.

With his musical collaborator, Mark Volman, in a photo not included in the book

At one point, Kaylan tells about meeting up with Graham Nash in London, listening to an advance copy of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band.” meeting John, Paul and Ringo in a nightclub (Lennon was a jerk), running into Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones and hanging out with Jones and Jimi Hendrix until Kaylan indulges too much and throws up on Hendrix. And that all happened on the same night.

Along the way, Kaylan makes more than a few bad business decisions. He and his bandmates sign a record deal as a group and individuals, and when they wind up suing their record company for cooking the books, he finds himself legally prohibited from recording under his own name for a few years. While this is going on, he turns down a job as the lead vocalist of a new group because they only wanted him and not his musical partner, Mark Volman. Steely Dan would have to go on without him.

The breakneck pace of this book leads to stories of so many collaborators and celebrity encounters that you don’t realize until you’re finished that you’ve just read a book that includes Frank Zappa, Ed Sullivan, Howard Stern, Strawberry Shortcake, Philip K. Dick, Harry Nillson, Bob Marley, John Belushi, David Bowie, The Amazing Randi, Linda Rondstadt and Billy West. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Shell Shocked is a name-dropper’s delight.

The Turtles years are a big part of Shell Shocked, both the 1960s and their 1980s concert revival tours. We get a great portrait of the California rock scene in the 1960s. Also of note is Kaylan’s insight as a member of Frank Zappa and The Mothers. This includes his account of the night that a fan with a flare gun burned down the hotel where The Mothers were playing, an incident immortalized in the Deep Purple song, “Smoke On The Water.”

With Frank Zapp and The Mothers in front of The Royal Albert Hall

Kaylan has had a fantastic life and this book is a spectacular chronicle of it. It’s hard to say how much credit should go to his co-writer, Jeff Tamarkin, a legendary rock journalist in his own right. From beginning to end Shell Shocked reads like Howard Kaylan’s authentic voice, telling his story in an overwhelmingly engaging and entertaining fashion. That’s a good indication that Tamarkin did a perfect job helping bring Kaylan’s unadulterated story to the printed page.

1970s era Howard Kaylan

Shell Shocked is a fun read. it’s upbeat and optimistic, even when dealing with dark moments like Kaylan’s failed marriages, bad business deals, and the deaths of his parents, friends and mentors. This book is simply utterly charming. Highly recommended for fans of 1960s and 70s music, or anyone who enjoys a good life story.

]]> Thu, 09 May 2013 10:00:13 GMT 950AB10001D348CC41561FFD11A95867 Definitely Loud Podcast - Episode #010 http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4228804 Definitely Loud Podcast Episode #010 is on! This week: Rap out of Charleston, WV from Mellow, heavy stuff out of Oklahoma with Angelical Tears, rock from Mexico with BETA , some heavy rock from Denver, CO natives NDAAZ - and a special treat from Justin and Jeremy&#8217;s metal band Hillbilly Deathride. So, strap-on, it&#8217;s in! Wait - I mean &#8230; strap in - it&#8217;s on! Angelical Tears "Pool of Sorrow" "Hate" Album: Eleventh Hour http://www.angelicaltears.com http://www.facebook.com/angelicaltears www.reverbnation.com/angelicaltears MUSIC VIDEO: Angelical Tears - &#8220;Hate&#8221; Mellow - Charleston, WV - website coming soon - Beta - Mexico "Casseopia ii" http://www.facebook.com/betaoficial http://www.youtube.com/betaoficialtv http://www.twitter.com/beta_mx NDAAZ - Colorado"The Gathering" https://www.facebook.com/pages/NDAAZ/49596748425?fref=ts http://www.myspace.com/ndaaz http://www.reverbnation.com/ndaaz Hillbilly Deathride - Branchland, WV hillbillydeathride.com facebook.com/hillbillydeathride reverbnation.com/hillbillydeathride Definitely Loud Podcast Episode #010 is on! This week: Rap out of Charleston, WV from Mellow, heavy stuff out of Oklahoma with Angelical Tears, rock from Mexico with BETA , some heavy rock from Denver, CO natives NDAAZ - and a special treat from Justin and Jeremy’s metal band Hillbilly Deathride. So, strap-on, it’s in! Wait - I mean … strap in - it’s on!

Angelical Tears

?Pool of Sorrow? ?Hate?

Album: Eleventh Hour

  • http://www.angelicaltears.com
  • http://www.facebook.com/angelicaltears
  • www.reverbnation.com/angelicaltears

MUSIC VIDEO: Angelical Tears - “Hate”

Mellow - Charleston, WV


  • - website coming soon -

Beta - Mexico


?Casseopia ii?

  • http://www.facebook.com/betaoficial
  • http://www.youtube.com/betaoficialtv
  • http://www.twitter.com/beta_mx



NDAAZ - Colorado

?The Gathering?

  • https://www.facebook.com/pages/NDAAZ/49596748425?fref=ts
  • http://www.myspace.com/ndaaz
  • http://www.reverbnation.com/ndaaz



Hillbilly Deathride - Branchland, WV

  • hillbillydeathride.com
  • facebook.com/hillbillydeathride
  • reverbnation.com/hillbillydeathride
]]> Wed, 08 May 2013 09:39:42 GMT 79C226DF83E7EEA8F275D1FDD251E25F The PopCult Toybox http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4219713 The Genius of Tom Daniel <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/gold_red_baron.png">The icon, The Red Baron Tom Daniel&#8217;s is not a household name, yet he may be the most prolific funny car designer of the 1960&#8242;s and 70&#8242;s. He didn&#8217;t get the publicity that George Barris got, but he&#8217;s responsible for many iconic Hot Wheels and model kits such as The Red Baron (immortalized in &#8220;Toy Story&#8221;), The Paddy Wagon, Rommel&#8217;s Rod, S&#8217;cool Bus, the Tiajuana Taxi and dozens of others. <a href="http://www.tomdaniel.com/index.html">Tom Daniel was a key part of many car-lover&#8217;s childhoods. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/AMT647_MunstersKoach_lid.png">Credited to George Barris, The Munster Koach is pure Tom Daniel One of his most recognized designs is often credited to George Barris (another funny car master most famous for hammering the Lincoln Futura into the classic TV Batmobile). Barris, facing a deadline crunch, brought Daniel in to design a car for a new TV show and since his studio built the car, George Barris gets the credit for The Munster Koach, even though it was a Tom Daniel design. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/paddy_wagon_casper_big.png">The Paddy Wagon model kit Daniel was a lifelong car nut who mastered the art of design and spent time designing specialized parts for GM, as well as aircraft designs before his funny car designs for hot rod magazines drew the attention of Mattel/Monogram. From 1968 to 1975, Daniel contribued eighty-five designs that were turned into both Hot Wheels cars and Monogram model kits. Some of his cars even made it into the real world as customizers built 1-1 scale models. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/tom_daniel.png">Tom Daniel, surrounded by some of his most famous designs Tom Daniel is still alive and kicking and has an <a href="http://www.tomdaniel.com/index.html">elaborate website where you can keep up to date with the latest re-issues of his classic model kits and die cast toys, plus you can buy t-shirts and fine art prints, showing off his impressive artistic skills. Any item you buy there will be personally signed by Tom Daniel himself. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/ttaxi.png">Toy Zone&#8217;s large Tijuana Taxi diecast About seven or eight years ago, the now defunct die-cast car company Toy Zone released 1-43 scale collectibles of some of Daniel&#8217;s most memorable classic designs, including The Red Baron. These are rather easily found for rather reasonable prices on <a href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0&amp;_nkw=tom+daniel+toy+zone&amp;_sacat=0&amp;_from=R40">eBay. Even longer ago, there were several Tom Daniel cars released as part of the Johnny Lightning die-cast line and those are also easy to find at decent prices. Even today, Mattel is still slipping the occasional Tom Daniel re-issue into their current assortment of Hot Wheels cars. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/rommels-rod.png">Vintage comic book ad for Rommel&#8217;s Rod. A reissue is available now. Round 2 Corporation and <a href="http://www.autoworldstore.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=tom+daniel&amp;Submit=Search">AutoWorld are also celebrating Tom Daniel by re-issuing several of his classic Monogram model kits and by translating many of his classic designs into brand-new slot cars. PopCult just wanted to take this week to tip our hat to the sadly overlooked (he doesn&#8217;t even have a Wikipedia page) Tom Daniel, the man behind The Red Baron. The Genius of Tom Daniel

The icon, The Red Baron

Tom Daniel’s is not a household name, yet he may be the most prolific funny car designer of the 1960′s and 70′s. He didn’t get the publicity that George Barris got, but he’s responsible for many iconic Hot Wheels and model kits such as The Red Baron (immortalized in “Toy Story”), The Paddy Wagon, Rommel’s Rod, S’cool Bus, the Tiajuana Taxi and dozens of others. Tom Daniel was a key part of many car-lover’s childhoods.

Credited to George Barris, The Munster Koach is pure Tom Daniel

One of his most recognized designs is often credited to George Barris (another funny car master most famous for hammering the Lincoln Futura into the classic TV Batmobile). Barris, facing a deadline crunch, brought Daniel in to design a car for a new TV show and since his studio built the car, George Barris gets the credit for The Munster Koach, even though it was a Tom Daniel design.

The Paddy Wagon model kit

Daniel was a lifelong car nut who mastered the art of design and spent time designing specialized parts for GM, as well as aircraft designs before his funny car designs for hot rod magazines drew the attention of Mattel/Monogram. From 1968 to 1975, Daniel contribued eighty-five designs that were turned into both Hot Wheels cars and Monogram model kits. Some of his cars even made it into the real world as customizers built 1-1 scale models.

Tom Daniel, surrounded by some of his most famous designs

Tom Daniel is still alive and kicking and has an elaborate website where you can keep up to date with the latest re-issues of his classic model kits and die cast toys, plus you can buy t-shirts and fine art prints, showing off his impressive artistic skills. Any item you buy there will be personally signed by Tom Daniel himself.

Toy Zone’s large Tijuana Taxi diecast

About seven or eight years ago, the now defunct die-cast car company Toy Zone released 1-43 scale collectibles of some of Daniel’s most memorable classic designs, including The Red Baron. These are rather easily found for rather reasonable prices on eBay. Even longer ago, there were several Tom Daniel cars released as part of the Johnny Lightning die-cast line and those are also easy to find at decent prices. Even today, Mattel is still slipping the occasional Tom Daniel re-issue into their current assortment of Hot Wheels cars.

Vintage comic book ad for Rommel’s Rod. A reissue is available now.

Round 2 Corporation and AutoWorld are also celebrating Tom Daniel by re-issuing several of his classic Monogram model kits and by translating many of his classic designs into brand-new slot cars.

PopCult just wanted to take this week to tip our hat to the sadly overlooked (he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page) Tom Daniel, the man behind The Red Baron.

]]> Tue, 07 May 2013 10:00:53 GMT 9CC15B7CABAC3ECDFB70895C0F92C34B Monday Morning Art: Poca Smokestacks http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4209782 <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/smoky-001.jpg">Today&#8217;s art is a digital painting based on an impressive view of the John Amos Power Plant, as seen from the parking lot of the Dollar General in Poca. There&#8217;s probably some deep environmental message in this image, or it just might look cool. Click it to see it bigger. Today’s art is a digital painting based on an impressive view of the John Amos Power Plant, as seen from the parking lot of the Dollar General in Poca. There’s probably some deep environmental message in this image, or it just might look cool. Click it to see it bigger.

]]> Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:32 GMT 9FD64703A382BF49EF2BE72D5EC4C065 Sunday Evening Video: RFC 184 http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4209105 It&#8217;s an easy one this week. Take some time to watch RFC 184, our latest episode. It features Time and Distance, The Carpenter Ants and more. Production notes are <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/2013/04/29/the-carpenter-ants-time-and-distance-and-more-on-rfc-184/">here. The Carpenter Ants

It’s an easy one this week. Take some time to watch RFC 184, our latest episode. It features Time and Distance, The Carpenter Ants and more. Production notes are here.

The Carpenter Ants

]]> Mon, 06 May 2013 04:02:26 GMT D0AC70D7936216C462B7EB98ACEFEDA7 Free Comic Book Day 2013 http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4202024 <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/fcbd13rectanglelogo.png">It&#8217;s still going on, as we speak. Locally, you can head out to Lost Legion Games and Comics on D Street in South Charleston, like we did earlier today. They have a full allotment of cool stuff. Not only can you choose among the mainstream stuff like The Walking Dead and DC and Marvel, but you can also find great stuff like Gilbert Hernandez&#8217;s &#8220;Marble Season&#8221;, the KaBoom sampler with Adventure Time and Regular Show and 2000 AD. Freebies are limited to 2 per visitor until 5:30, then it&#8217;s a virtual free-for-all! It&#8217;s a beautiful day. Force yourself to leave the house and run by Lost Legion for some free goodies. You only have a few hours left. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/fcbd-repair-01.png">A nice crowd showed up early to check out the store. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/fcbd-repair-02.png">Great freebies for all ages at Lost Legion. It’s still going on, as we speak. Locally, you can head out to Lost Legion Games and Comics on D Street in South Charleston, like we did earlier today. They have a full allotment of cool stuff. Not only can you choose among the mainstream stuff like The Walking Dead and DC and Marvel, but you can also find great stuff like Gilbert Hernandez’s “Marble Season”, the KaBoom sampler with Adventure Time and Regular Show and 2000 AD. Freebies are limited to 2 per visitor until 5:30, then it’s a virtual free-for-all! It’s a beautiful day. Force yourself to leave the house and run by Lost Legion for some free goodies. You only have a few hours left.

A nice crowd showed up early to check out the store.

Great freebies for all ages at Lost Legion.

]]> Sat, 04 May 2013 22:43:45 GMT 4B705CF1E431B340C72EDD7FEF3A1DEF My Gateway Drug To The Beatles http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4182906 <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Rutles-1.png">The PopCulteer May 3, 2013 We&#8217;re covering quite a few topics this week, from the latest RFC, to a reminder about &#8220;A Delicate Balance,&#8221; to a confession of a Beatle freak to a rundown of weekend events. Let us dive in and wallow, shall we? RFC 184 Radio Free Charleston 184 dropped Monday, and it&#8217;s a great show, with the RFC debuts of The Carpenter Ants and Time and Distance, plus other great stuff. Watch it right now! Now read the <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/2013/04/29/the-carpenter-ants-time-and-distance-and-more-on-rfc-184/">production notes. A Delicate Balance The Alban Arts Center production of Edward Albee&#8217;s Pulitzer Prize winning drama, &#8220;<a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/2013/04/28/a-balanced-review/">A Delicate Balance,&#8221; has three more performances that you can catch. Audiences have been thrilled and intrigued, with the exception of the Gazette reviewer, who apparently fancies herself a better judge of drama than the Pulitzer committee. An amazing cast (including your PopCulteer&#8217;s fiancee) wonderfully brings to life Edward Albee&#8217;s Pulitzer-winning script. This production can be seen three more times, May 3, 4, and 5, at the Alban Arts Center. Showtime is 8 PM Friday and Saturday, with a Sunday matinee at 2 PM. See it for yourself. Fight the power. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/The-Rutles.png">The Pre-Fab Four Rutlemania Your PopCulteer is an unabashed Beatles fan. I&#8217;m a bit of an expert on the Fab Four. When a new book about The Beatles comes out, I usually flip through it in the store and find mistakes. But I have a confession to make. I never would have gotten interested in The Beatles if it were not for The Rutles. I&#8217;m of an age where I was constantly exposed to The Beatles growing up. I liked the music. It was a soundtrack to the 1960s. I watched the crappy Rankin-Bass cartoon, both on the network and again as segments on Mr. Cartoon. When The Yellow Submarine movie came out, I was changed for life by the graphics, the design, and the comedy. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/B0007N19EQ.01.LZZZZZZZ.png">I still have this on vinyl But comedy was my main interest. As a kid, I didn&#8217;t really buy many music records. I was into comedy. First it was Bill Cosby stand-up records. Then later Bob Newhart. I was exposed to Monty Python in 1970, via a summer replacement series, &#8220;Dean Martin&#8217;s World of Comedy.&#8221; Despite protestations to the contrary by the official Python biographer, I have vivid memories of Monty Python airing on WMUL (now WPBY) as early as 1971. I was a rabid Python fan. I bought both their 1973 record albums as soon as they were released. I devoured all things Python. Until late 1978, the Charleston/Huntington television market was deprived of Saturday Night Live by WSAZ, who preferred showing old movies and tape-delayed Kentucky basketball games to airing the most-talked-about TV show of the day. Our only exposure to classic SNL was the disastrous prime-time show from New Orleans. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/The_Rutles_Get_Up_And_Go_1978-500x368.png">All You Need Is Cash When NBC scheduled a show that would team up SNL&#8217;s Not Ready For Prime Time Players with members of Monty Python in a parody of The Beatles, I didn&#8217;t really know what to expect. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/119086_1221927689526_full.jpg">On March 22, 1978, The Rutles in &#8220;All You Need Is Cash&#8221; aired to the lowest ratings of any show on network television that week. I was glued to the TV, and it changed my life. The story was hilarious, even to a young PopCulteer who only barely knew the story of The Beatles. Not only was I hooked by the animated parody of Yellow Submarine, but the imagery from &#8220;Piggy In The Middle&#8221; stuck with me, and, well&#8230;I wanted more. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Rutles.png">Not The Yellow Submarine The next day I bothered my older brother until he took me to Budget Tapes and Records, where I found, in the cutout bin no less, the soundtrack to The Rutles special. It was $2.99, plus tax, and it included a fully-illustrated booklet loaded with parody images, lyrics, and transcripts of interviews with Paul Simon and Mick Jagger. The songs by Neil Innes, all homages to The Beatles, resonated with me in a way that no other music had up to that point. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/The-Beatles-An-Illustrated-Re-512273.png">I have three editions of this book I probably spent the next month listening to this album. Then I still wanted more. I borrowed my sister&#8217;s copies of Let It Be and the blue Beatles best-of album (1966-1970). I pretty much spent that summer listening to Beatles and/or Rutles music non-stop. I think I only left the house to go to The Arcade Bookstore to buy &#8220;The Beatles Illustrated Record&#8221; by Roy Carr and Tony Tyler and &#8220;Beatles Forever&#8221; by Hunter Davies. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/beatl-book-001.png">The Beatles by Marvel Comics Later in the year, Marvel Comics published a magazine-sized history of The Beatles, written by David Anthony Kraft and drawn by George Perez and Klaus Janson, and it very nicely dove-tailed with the story of The Rutles. With all this reading material, I was able to get all the jokes in the mockumentary. You can read the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nerdcoreblog/sets/72157631334794744/">Marvel version of the Fab Four here, where it&#8217;s been posted to Flickr. Of note for comic book fans, that&#8217;s the penciller of &#8220;The New Teen Titans&#8221; and &#8220;JLA vs. The Avengers,&#8221; teamed with the inker of &#8220;The Dark Knight Returns.&#8221; It was that summer that I became a rabid Beatles fan, and then a rabid music fan as my interests spread to progressive rock, new wave, punk, techno, big band swing and more. It&#8217;s what lead me to become a radio deejay and develop the first incarnation of Radio Free Charleston. And it&#8217;s why I still produce RFC today. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/Tragical-History-Tour-the-rutles-1383131-567-559.jpg">Not so tragic, really I owe it all to The Rutles. The music by Innes, and the sketch by Innes and Eric Idle, connected me to The Beatles Matrix, and I am still logged in. The Rutles were my gateway drug to The Beatles. To this day I still thank them for that. Stuff To Do Friday George Washington High School&#8217;s improve troupe, Batteries Not Included, puts on their spring show tonight at 7 PM at the GWHS Auditorium. Admission is free. Free Music Friday night sees Bare Bones brining their tight acapella harmonies to Taylor Books beginning at 7:30 PM. Dugan Carter and Friends take the stage at Bruno&#8217;s at 9 PM. Also at 9 PM, Renegade Mary returns to Smiley&#8217;s Lounge in St. Albans. At 8 PM The Hackensaw Boys bring their string band sound to The Sound Factory at 8 PM, with PD Bird opening and a $15 cover. The Wild Rumpus will be at The Boulevard Tavern at 10 PM for a five-dollar cover. The McGees will be at The Empty Glass with the seven/five-dollar sliding cover charge. Saturday Free music includes Renegade Mary, back at Smiley&#8217;s Lounge at 9 PM, and the way-cool Ritchy Collins Three-O at Taylor Books at 7 PM. The big free show is all evening at Los Agaves in South Charleston, as Comparsa and The VooDoo Katz offer up a couple of sets each at an outdoor stage, starting at 4 PM and 7 PM. Sunday, 600 lbs of SIN takes the stage at 4 PM. Everpulse is hosting an all-day, all-ages show at the Elkview Community Center, starting at 12:30 PM. Bands include Natural Born Talent, Deck of Fools, Breedlove, Trielement, Everpulse and more. No word yet on an admission fee, but it&#8217;s sure to be a bargain with so many great bands (many of which have been on Radio Free Charleston). The Nanker Phelge, Ryan Wright and No Pretty Pictures will be at Sam&#8217;s Uptown Cafe at 10 PM with a five-dollar cover. Soon-to-be RFC guests, The Red Lights, will celebrate Cinco De Mayo at The Empty Glass at 10 PM, with a seven dollar cover. That&#8217;s it for this week. Keep on PopCult&#8217;! The PopCulteer
May 3, 2013

We’re covering quite a few topics this week, from the latest RFC, to a reminder about “A Delicate Balance,” to a confession of a Beatle freak to a rundown of weekend events. Let us dive in and wallow, shall we?

RFC 184

Radio Free Charleston 184 dropped Monday, and it’s a great show, with the RFC debuts of The Carpenter Ants and Time and Distance, plus other great stuff. Watch it right now!

Now read the production notes.

A Delicate Balance

The Alban Arts Center production of Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize winning drama, “A Delicate Balance,” has three more performances that you can catch. Audiences have been thrilled and intrigued, with the exception of the Gazette reviewer, who apparently fancies herself a better judge of drama than the Pulitzer committee. An amazing cast (including your PopCulteer’s fiancee) wonderfully brings to life Edward Albee’s Pulitzer-winning script. This production can be seen three more times, May 3, 4, and 5, at the Alban Arts Center. Showtime is 8 PM Friday and Saturday, with a Sunday matinee at 2 PM. See it for yourself. Fight the power.

The Pre-Fab Four

Rutlemania

Your PopCulteer is an unabashed Beatles fan. I’m a bit of an expert on the Fab Four. When a new book about The Beatles comes out, I usually flip through it in the store and find mistakes. But I have a confession to make.

I never would have gotten interested in The Beatles if it were not for The Rutles.

I’m of an age where I was constantly exposed to The Beatles growing up. I liked the music. It was a soundtrack to the 1960s. I watched the crappy Rankin-Bass cartoon, both on the network and again as segments on Mr. Cartoon.

When The Yellow Submarine movie came out, I was changed for life by the graphics, the design, and the comedy.

I still have this on vinyl

But comedy was my main interest. As a kid, I didn’t really buy many music records. I was into comedy. First it was Bill Cosby stand-up records. Then later Bob Newhart. I was exposed to Monty Python in 1970, via a summer replacement series, “Dean Martin’s World of Comedy.” Despite protestations to the contrary by the official Python biographer, I have vivid memories of Monty Python airing on WMUL (now WPBY) as early as 1971.

I was a rabid Python fan. I bought both their 1973 record albums as soon as they were released. I devoured all things Python.

Until late 1978, the Charleston/Huntington television market was deprived of Saturday Night Live by WSAZ, who preferred showing old movies and tape-delayed Kentucky basketball games to airing the most-talked-about TV show of the day. Our only exposure to classic SNL was the disastrous prime-time show from New Orleans.

All You Need Is Cash

When NBC scheduled a show that would team up SNL’s Not Ready For Prime Time Players with members of Monty Python in a parody of The Beatles, I didn’t really know what to expect.

On March 22, 1978, The Rutles in “All You Need Is Cash” aired to the lowest ratings of any show on network television that week. I was glued to the TV, and it changed my life.

The story was hilarious, even to a young PopCulteer who only barely knew the story of The Beatles. Not only was I hooked by the animated parody of Yellow Submarine, but the imagery from “Piggy In The Middle” stuck with me, and, well…I wanted more.

Not The Yellow Submarine

The next day I bothered my older brother until he took me to Budget Tapes and Records, where I found, in the cutout bin no less, the soundtrack to The Rutles special. It was $2.99, plus tax, and it included a fully-illustrated booklet loaded with parody images, lyrics, and transcripts of interviews with Paul Simon and Mick Jagger. The songs by Neil Innes, all homages to The Beatles, resonated with me in a way that no other music had up to that point.

I have three editions of this book

I probably spent the next month listening to this album. Then I still wanted more. I borrowed my sister’s copies of Let It Be and the blue Beatles best-of album (1966-1970). I pretty much spent that summer listening to Beatles and/or Rutles music non-stop. I think I only left the house to go to The Arcade Bookstore to buy “The Beatles Illustrated Record” by Roy Carr and Tony Tyler and “Beatles Forever” by Hunter Davies.

The Beatles by Marvel Comics

Later in the year, Marvel Comics published a magazine-sized history of The Beatles, written by David Anthony Kraft and drawn by George Perez and Klaus Janson, and it very nicely dove-tailed with the story of The Rutles. With all this reading material, I was able to get all the jokes in the mockumentary.

You can read the Marvel version of the Fab Four here, where it’s been posted to Flickr. Of note for comic book fans, that’s the penciller of “The New Teen Titans” and “JLA vs. The Avengers,” teamed with the inker of “The Dark Knight Returns.”

It was that summer that I became a rabid Beatles fan, and then a rabid music fan as my interests spread to progressive rock, new wave, punk, techno, big band swing and more. It’s what lead me to become a radio deejay and develop the first incarnation of Radio Free Charleston. And it’s why I still produce RFC today.

Not so tragic, really

I owe it all to The Rutles. The music by Innes, and the sketch by Innes and Eric Idle, connected me to The Beatles Matrix, and I am still logged in.

The Rutles were my gateway drug to The Beatles. To this day I still thank them for that.

Stuff To Do

Friday

George Washington High School’s improve troupe, Batteries Not Included, puts on their spring show tonight at 7 PM at the GWHS Auditorium. Admission is free.

Free Music Friday night sees Bare Bones brining their tight acapella harmonies to Taylor Books beginning at 7:30 PM. Dugan Carter and Friends take the stage at Bruno’s at 9 PM. Also at 9 PM, Renegade Mary returns to Smiley’s Lounge in St. Albans.

At 8 PM The Hackensaw Boys bring their string band sound to The Sound Factory at 8 PM, with PD Bird opening and a $15 cover. The Wild Rumpus will be at The Boulevard Tavern at 10 PM for a five-dollar cover. The McGees will be at The Empty Glass with the seven/five-dollar sliding cover charge.

Saturday

Free music includes Renegade Mary, back at Smiley’s Lounge at 9 PM, and the way-cool Ritchy Collins Three-O at Taylor Books at 7 PM. The big free show is all evening at Los Agaves in South Charleston, as Comparsa and The VooDoo Katz offer up a couple of sets each at an outdoor stage, starting at 4 PM and 7 PM. Sunday, 600 lbs of SIN takes the stage at 4 PM.

Everpulse is hosting an all-day, all-ages show at the Elkview Community Center, starting at 12:30 PM. Bands include Natural Born Talent, Deck of Fools, Breedlove, Trielement, Everpulse and more. No word yet on an admission fee, but it’s sure to be a bargain with so many great bands (many of which have been on Radio Free Charleston).

The Nanker Phelge, Ryan Wright and No Pretty Pictures will be at Sam’s Uptown Cafe at 10 PM with a five-dollar cover.

Soon-to-be RFC guests, The Red Lights, will celebrate Cinco De Mayo at The Empty Glass at 10 PM, with a seven dollar cover.

That’s it for this week. Keep on PopCult’!

]]> Fri, 03 May 2013 10:00:53 GMT 8F57858F9CD98F02AB0BC2CB527DB01C Alan Moore In The DC Universe http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4171188 The PopCult Bookshelf <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/The-DC-Universe_By-Alan-Moore_HC-672x1024.png">The cover to the Softcover edition DC Universe by Alan Moore Written by Alan Moore, Drawn by Various DC Comics ISBN: 978-1-4012-3340-2- $24.99 This book has a problematic title. It&#8217;s basically a collection of everything Alan Moore wrote for DC that wasn&#8217;t Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, The Killing Joke or Watchmen. As such, it&#8217;s hard to determine just exactly which DC Universe this book takes place in. Some of it dates back to &#8220;Earth 1&#8243; from the days before the Crisis On Infinite Earths. Some of it takes place in the &#8220;New DC Universe,&#8221; which was wiped out a couple of years ago and replaced by the &#8220;New 52&#8243; DC Universe and some of the stories were published by Wildstorm, which used to be a separate company before DC bought them. A better title for this book would be &#8220;Random Superhero Stories By Alan Moore.&#8221; <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/images-11.png">One of the greatest Superman stories ever As such, it&#8217;s still uniformly excellent. This is Alan Moore we&#8217;re talking about here, the most influential writer in comics history. Before Moore came onto the scene, there were no &#8220;superstar&#8221; writers, with the possible exception of Stan Lee, who was more of an editor than a writer most of the time. Moore changed comics and spawned so many imitators that he literally changed the face of comics forever. This book includes some stories that rank with his best work. The two part &#8220;Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow?&#8221; was the swan song for the classic incarnation of Superman and teamed Moore with the definitive Superman artist, Curt Swan. These stories have been reprinted in a stand alone volume, but it&#8217;s nice to have them included here too. Also included in this volume is the Superman Annual from 1985 &#8220;For The Man Who Has Everything,&#8221; which teamed Alan Moore with his Watchmen collaborator, Dave Gibbons, on a story that was later adapted into an episode of the animated &#8220;Justice League Unlimited.&#8221; Superman also turns up in &#8220;The Jungle Line,&#8221; a very unusual teamup with Swamp Thing. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/alan-moore1.png">The man himself, probably not thrilled with this book&#8217;s title There are a handful of Batman stories in this book, the standout of which is &#8220;Mortal Clay,&#8221; which saw Alan Moore re-invent the classic Batman villain, Clayface, in a story drawn by George Freeman. Lesser works represented in this volume are some short Green Lantern and Omega Men stories and a two-part Vigilante story. The less impressive work in this book is the Wildstorm material, which unfortunately takes up about two hundred pages. While it&#8217;s good, it&#8217;s far from Moore&#8217;s best work and it doesn&#8217;t have the charm of the earlier stories where Moore is obviously having a blast crafting stories about the heroes he grew up reading. Aside from the artists I&#8217;ve already mentioned, there&#8217;s some notable work by Klaus Janson, Jim Baikie, Moore&#8217;s &#8220;League of Extraordinary Gentlemen&#8221; collaborator Kevin O&#8217;Neill, Rick Veich, Joe Orlando, the creator of &#8220;Fables,&#8221; Bill Willingham and the late Al Rio. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/05/4713_400x600.png">The cover to the hardcover edition, which is printed many times in the book, padding the page count a bit. This book is perfect for the Alan Moore completist and it&#8217;s available as a forty-dollar hardcover edition or the softcover, which I reviewed here. It&#8217;s pretty much a no-frills package, with no introduction, forward, or afterword and a continual reprinting of what must be the cover for the hardcover edition throughout. There should be Alan Moore completists out there. Regardless of what you think of the man and his various crusades, his work has never been less than excellent. Everything he touches is worth reading. Even though Moore himself is probably not thrilled that his name is featured in the title of a book published by DC Comics, with whom he has been seriously feuding for a quarter century, it&#8217;s a testament to the quality of his work and his commercial appeal that this volume exists. This book is highly recommended for any Moore fan who doesn&#8217;t have the original comics. The PopCult Bookshelf

The cover to the Softcover edition

DC Universe by Alan Moore
Written by Alan Moore, Drawn by Various
DC Comics
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3340-2-
$24.99

This book has a problematic title. It’s basically a collection of everything Alan Moore wrote for DC that wasn’t Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, The Killing Joke or Watchmen. As such, it’s hard to determine just exactly which DC Universe this book takes place in. Some of it dates back to “Earth 1″ from the days before the Crisis On Infinite Earths. Some of it takes place in the “New DC Universe,” which was wiped out a couple of years ago and replaced by the “New 52″ DC Universe and some of the stories were published by Wildstorm, which used to be a separate company before DC bought them. A better title for this book would be “Random Superhero Stories By Alan Moore.”

One of the greatest Superman stories ever

As such, it’s still uniformly excellent. This is Alan Moore we’re talking about here, the most influential writer in comics history. Before Moore came onto the scene, there were no “superstar” writers, with the possible exception of Stan Lee, who was more of an editor than a writer most of the time. Moore changed comics and spawned so many imitators that he literally changed the face of comics forever.

This book includes some stories that rank with his best work. The two part “Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow?” was the swan song for the classic incarnation of Superman and teamed Moore with the definitive Superman artist, Curt Swan. These stories have been reprinted in a stand alone volume, but it’s nice to have them included here too.

Also included in this volume is the Superman Annual from 1985 “For The Man Who Has Everything,” which teamed Alan Moore with his Watchmen collaborator, Dave Gibbons, on a story that was later adapted into an episode of the animated “Justice League Unlimited.” Superman also turns up in “The Jungle Line,” a very unusual teamup with Swamp Thing.

The man himself, probably not thrilled with this book’s title

There are a handful of Batman stories in this book, the standout of which is “Mortal Clay,” which saw Alan Moore re-invent the classic Batman villain, Clayface, in a story drawn by George Freeman.

Lesser works represented in this volume are some short Green Lantern and Omega Men stories and a two-part Vigilante story.

The less impressive work in this book is the Wildstorm material, which unfortunately takes up about two hundred pages. While it’s good, it’s far from Moore’s best work and it doesn’t have the charm of the earlier stories where Moore is obviously having a blast crafting stories about the heroes he grew up reading.

Aside from the artists I’ve already mentioned, there’s some notable work by Klaus Janson, Jim Baikie, Moore’s “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” collaborator Kevin O’Neill, Rick Veich, Joe Orlando, the creator of “Fables,” Bill Willingham and the late Al Rio.

The cover to the hardcover edition, which is printed many times in the book, padding the page count a bit.

This book is perfect for the Alan Moore completist and it’s available as a forty-dollar hardcover edition or the softcover, which I reviewed here. It’s pretty much a no-frills package, with no introduction, forward, or afterword and a continual reprinting of what must be the cover for the hardcover edition throughout. There should be Alan Moore completists out there. Regardless of what you think of the man and his various crusades, his work has never been less than excellent. Everything he touches is worth reading.

Even though Moore himself is probably not thrilled that his name is featured in the title of a book published by DC Comics, with whom he has been seriously feuding for a quarter century, it’s a testament to the quality of his work and his commercial appeal that this volume exists.

This book is highly recommended for any Moore fan who doesn’t have the original comics.

]]> Thu, 02 May 2013 10:00:16 GMT 66A86369F2FB9FDD70487E96C6C5FB89 Definitely Loud Podcast - Episode #009 http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4159029 Definitely Loud Podcast Episode #009 - featuring Mona Grasella (Indonesia), Squirm &amp; Germ (NY), Ignite &amp; Imagery (NC), Trielement (WV), Scream Arena (UK), and more tunes from Screams of Hate (Brazil). You&#8217;ve waited long enough - check out Episode #009! Mona Grasella - Indonesia"Freakness Fvcking Friends" "Vaginal Bleeding" <a title="https://www.facebook.com/monagrasella" href="https://www.facebook.com/monagrasella" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/monagrasella Ignite and Imagery - NC"I &amp; I (Get Your Hands High)" <a title="https://www.facebook.com/IgniteandImageryPlus3" href="https://www.facebook.com/IgniteandImageryPlus3" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/IgniteandImageryPlus3 <a title="igniteandimagery.com" href="http://igniteandimagery.com" target="_blank">igniteandimagery.com Squirm &amp; Germ - NYC"Maine Mo Fo's""Pregnant in the Club" <a title="http://www.squirmandgerm.com/" href="http://www.squirmandgerm.com/" target="_blank">http://www.reverbnation.com/squirmandgerm <a title="http://facebook.com - Squirm &amp; Germ" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/profile/177767112238119?sk=app_2405167945" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com - Squirm &amp; Germ <a title="http://www.squirmandgerm.com/" href="http://www.squirmandgerm.com/" target="_blank">http://www.squirmandgerm.com/ Trielement - Charleston, WV"Devil's Dice" <a title="https://www.facebook.com/Trielement" href="https://www.facebook.com/Trielement" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/Trielement <a title="http://www.reverbnation.com/trielement" href="http://www.reverbnation.com/trielement" target="_blank">http://www.reverbnation.com/trielement <a title="http://www.trielementband.com/" href="http://www.trielementband.com/" target="_blank">http://www.trielementband.com/ Scream Arena - UK"Racing to the End of Night" <a title="https://www.facebook.com/ Scream Arena" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scream-Arena/230034103060" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com Scream Arena Screams of Hate - Brazil"Narcotic" <a title="https://www.facebook.com/screamsofhate" href="https://www.facebook.com/screamsofhate" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/screamsofhate <a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/screamsofhate">http://www.reverbnation.com/screamsofhate <a title="http://www.screamsofhate.com/" href="http://www.screamsofhate.com/" target="_blank">http://www.screamsofhate.com/ <a title="http://www.reverbnation.com/screamsofhate" href="http://www.reverbnation.com/screamsofhate" target="_blank"> Definitely Loud Podcast Episode #009 - featuring Mona Grasella (Indonesia), Squirm & Germ (NY), Ignite & Imagery (NC), Trielement (WV), Scream Arena (UK), and more tunes from Screams of Hate (Brazil). You’ve waited long enough - check out Episode #009!

Mona Grasella - Indonesia
?Freakness Fvcking Friends?
?Vaginal Bleeding?

Ignite and Imagery - NC
?I & I (Get Your Hands High)?


Squirm & Germ - NYC
?Maine Mo Fo?s?
?Pregnant in the Club?

Trielement - Charleston, WV
?Devil?s Dice?


Scream Arena - UK
?Racing to the End of Night?

Screams of Hate - Brazil
?Narcotic?

]]> Wed, 01 May 2013 08:02:01 GMT D57F42A2905EBBD5B88251B067675342 The PopCult Toybox http://emptyglass.com/localscene.cfm?feature=3737839&postid=4158937 Captain Action News Out Of Chicago <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/04/Cap-box-002.png">The sleek new CA packaging I don&#8217;t need to go into the long history of <a href="http://www.captainaction.com/">Captain Action and PopCult here. I&#8217;ve been writing about the toy since my <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/2005/09/14/a-long-wait-for-evil/">first month blogging. Things are progressing very nicely with the new revival of the classic 1960&#8242;s action figure line. The good Captain will continue to stalk toy store shelves and he will continue to have cool uniform sets that will allow him to be dressed as classic super heroes, all thanks to <a href="http://www.captainaction.com/">Captain Action Enterprises and <a href="http://www.foreverfun.com/captainaction/">Round 2 Corp. However, out of the C2E2 Expo in Chicago last weekend, we have even more exciting info on new uniforms, new figures, a new comic book series and an animated show. First up, the next two uniform sets, Iron Man and Wolverine, will be hitting stores in a matter of weeks. With these sets, the deluxe/basic packaging will end. All uniform sets will now be one low price, loaded with accessories and they still will include the &#8220;Build-A-Uniform&#8221; pieces you&#8217;ll need to complete the Hawkeye outfit. The Iron Man and Wolverine sets will be re-solicited through Diamond Previews to reflect the new, lower price. Also, the basic Captain Action figure will be released in a cool, thinner, box, with all the available Marvel uniform sets shown on the front, a throwback to the 1960&#8242;s box design. There will be no deluxe sets, but each uniform set and basic figure will retail for $20 and will still include loads of accessories and a &#8220;Build-A-Uniform&#8221; piece. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/04/ga-supe-protoy-02.png">A package mock-up for the Golden Age Superman These will be the changes in the way all the uniform sets are sold starting with Iron Man and Wolverine. The first DC Comics sets, Superman and The Joker (a uniform for Dr. Evil), will still include tons of accessories and a &#8220;Build-A-Uniform&#8221; piece. The &#8220;Build-A-Uniform&#8221; outfits will now be completed in four sets, instead of six. The first four DC Comics outfits will contain the pieces you need to build Aquaman. It looks like the first four DC sets will be The Silver Age Superman, The Joker, Batman and The Golden Age Superman (possibly not in that order, and probably with the Golden Age Superman being replaced with another DC uniform set). Package art was shown for Lady Action uniforms, which is a pretty solid indicator that a female companion for Captain Action is on the way. Outfits shown for Lady Action included Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl and Catwoman. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/04/dc-boxes.png">Promotional artwork for the DC Comics uniform sets Word is that Round 2 (under their Forever Fun imprint) plans a uniform release (probably two at a time) every four months. 2013 and 2014 will focus on Marvel and DC Comics characters, but in 2015, characters from Dynamite Comics, the new comic book home for Cap, will enter the fray, with Red Sonja in the forefront. The Dynamite Comic was described in an email by Captain Action Enterprises&#8217; Ed Catto, &#8220;Dynamite will start with a 5 (maybe 6) issue miniseries that will tell the tale of Captain Action just before he officially becomes Captain Action. It&#8217;s set in the sixties and teams him with some great heroes. And you can be sure he&#8217;ll have to assume their identities throughout the story too. Some of the heroes are ones that you&#8217;d expect and have been clamoring for (like Green Hornet and Kato) will some will be unexpected but will very cool (American Crusader).&#8221; <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/04/Hawkeye.png">The complete Hawkeye &#8220;Build A Uniform&#8221; set Catto continues, &#8220;We&#8217;ll also be including Black Venus, a sexy female heroine and aviatrix (who Captain Action will not be assuming the identity of). Dr. Evil will be the villain of this miniseries. And for this one we&#8217;re going total 60&#8242;s- spies, secret island headquarters, groovy chicks, wild gadgets &#8211; it&#8217;s going to be awesome!&#8221; Captain Action is also invading the world of animation in a series by animation house, G7, under the direction of lead writer, Marv Wolfman (co-creator of The New Teen Titans, Blade, Tomb of Dracula). With loads of new Captain Action stuff on the way, you can be sure that the PopCult Toybox will keep an eye out and keep you up to date. <a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/popcult/files/2013/04/CA-DE-Still.png">A test shot from the animated series Captain Action News Out Of Chicago

The sleek new CA packaging

I don’t need to go into the long history of Captain Action and PopCult here. I’ve been writing about the toy since my first month blogging.

Things are progressing very nicely with the new revival of the classic 1960′s action figure line. The good Captain will continue to stalk toy store shelves and he will continue to have cool uniform sets that will allow him to be dressed as classic super heroes, all thanks to Captain Action Enterprises and Round 2 Corp.

However, out of the C2E2 Expo in Chicago last weekend, we have even more exciting info on new uniforms, new figures, a new comic book series and an animated show.

First up, the next two uniform sets, Iron Man and Wolverine, will be hitting stores in a matter of weeks. With these sets, the deluxe/basic packaging will end. All uniform sets will now be one low price, loaded with accessories and they still will include the “Build-A-Uniform” pieces you’ll need to complete the Hawkeye outfit. The Iron Man and Wolverine sets will be re-solicited through Diamond Previews to reflect the new, lower price.

Also, the basic Captain Action figure will be released in a cool, thinner, box, with all the available Marvel uniform sets shown on the front, a throwback to the 1960′s box design. There will be no deluxe sets, but each uniform set and basic figure will retail for $20 and will still include loads of accessories and a “Build-A-Uniform” piece.

A package mock-up for the Golden Age Superman

These will be the changes in the way all the uniform sets are sold starting with Iron Man and Wolverine. The first DC Comics sets, Superman and The Joker (a uniform for Dr. Evil), will still include tons of accessories and a “Build-A-Uniform” piece. The “Build-A-Uniform” outfits will now be completed in four sets, instead of six. The first four DC Comics outfits will contain the pieces you need to build Aquaman.

It looks like the first four DC sets will be The Silver Age Superman, The Joker, Batman and The Golden Age Superman (possibly not in that order, and probably with the Golden Age Superman being replaced with another DC uniform set). Package art was shown for Lady Action uniforms, which is a pretty solid indicator that a female companion for Captain Action is on the way. Outfits shown for Lady Action included Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl and Catwoman.

Promotional artwork for the DC Comics uniform sets

Word is that Round 2 (under their Forever Fun imprint) plans a uniform release (probably two at a time) every four months. 2013 and 2014 will focus on Marvel and DC Comics characters, but in 2015, characters from Dynamite Comics, the new comic book home for Cap, will enter the fray, with Red Sonja in the forefront.

The Dynamite Comic was described in an email by Captain Action Enterprises’ Ed Catto, “Dynamite will start with a 5 (maybe 6) issue miniseries that will tell the tale of Captain Action just before he officially becomes Captain Action. It’s set in the sixties and teams him with some great heroes. And you can be sure he’ll have to assume their identities throughout the story too. Some of the heroes are ones that you’d expect and have been clamoring for (like Green Hornet and Kato) will some will be unexpected but will very cool (American Crusader).”

The complete Hawkeye “Build A Uniform” set

Catto continues, “We’ll also be including Black Venus, a sexy female heroine and aviatrix (who Captain Action will not be assuming the identity of). Dr. Evil will be the villain of this miniseries. And for this one we’re going total 60′s- spies, secret island headquarters, groovy chicks, wild gadgets – it’s going to be awesome!”

Captain Action is also invading the world of animation in a series by animation house, G7, under the direction of lead writer, Marv Wolfman (co-creator of The New Teen Titans, Blade, Tomb of Dracula).

With loads of new Captain Action stuff on the way, you can be sure that the PopCult Toybox will keep an eye out and keep you up to date.

A test shot from the animated series

]]> Wed, 01 May 2013 06:50:31 GMT 8B4C5CB08578C8F3191F1EA5047BA261