A Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in Washington, D.C. will honor Oscar-winning director Francis Ford Coppola; legendary rock band the Grateful Dead (Mickey Hart, Billy Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bobby Weir); Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt; jazz musician Arturo Sandoval; and the Apollo theater in December.
These individuals are being recognized for their lifetime achievements, with the Apollo receiving special recognition as an iconic American institution. Performance artists who have shaped the fabric of American culture are honored by the Kennedy Center Honors every year.
This year’s Kennedy Center Honors will take place on Dec. 8 and air on Dec. 23 on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Source: https://variety.com/2024/film/news/francis-ford-coppola-grateful-dead-bonnie-raitt-kennedy-center-honors-1236076728/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2NuulrOPw-mVRv-ULZ0azoAmvRpWsycrSWofO0O5lei3uZOHnGsiUnVJs_aem_fljJSTUGxkSNk7Jji_BObA
Private schools have been imposing off-campus rules on students for years. What should be done when it goes too far? Cramerton Christian Academy, a private Christian school in North Carolina, has expelled Bailey Griggs for "attending gatherings" where drugs and alcohol are present. My problem is with why and how they did this. For the full story, visit the link at the end of this post and watch the video.
The fall semester of Bailey Griggs' final year at Cramerton Christian Academy in Gastonia was to be filled with special moments with her friends. All that ended abruptly when Bailey's mother, Jennifer Griggs, received an e-mail with the bad news. Mrs. Griggs felt that school, and participation on the cheer team, were "ripped away from her" by Cramerton Christian Academy.
Taken from the school's handbook: "The school prohibits students from 'attending night clubs or bars' and 'attending gatherings with alcohol or drugs present.' “When you look at the handbook and the way it’s written, it says that she’s not to be gathering in places where there’s alcohol and drugs,” Jennifer Griggs said. “And she’s not gathering, she’s doing her job.”
Bailey Griggs’ agrees, saying she is at these venues to play music. “I’m the performer and I’m not drinking. I’m underage,” she said.
Jennifer believes her daughter was singled out. “The other kids in the schools, there’s post, many, many posts of them attending music concerts,” Jennifer Griggs said. “If anyone knows, when you go to those concerts, you’re surrounded by alcohol.”
Bailey believes the rules are not being applied consistently. “If you’re going to kick me out, then probably kick the whole school out,” Bailey told WCNC.
Due to my own experience of going to a private Christian school, I am inclined to speak out about this, in part, because it infuriates me to see such a bright, and talented young lady expelled over such nonsense. There were rules about what students could not do off campus at the school I attended. Off-campus behavior should be observed by parents, not by schools. Having a dress code was bad enough. You had to tuck your shirt if it was too long. It was your responsibility to change your shirt or pants if they were too tight or too loose. Infractions were issued for violating the dress code too many times. Too many infractions led to demerits, which inevitably led to three o'clock detention.
Kids have it hard enough without making it harder, and this particular school was WAY out of line. I agree 100% with Bailey Griggs and her mother, Jennifer Griggs. Bailey was not "gathering," she was PERFORMING ON STAGE. Newsflash for Cramerton Christian Academy, musicians do that! As an artist, she was doing her JOB. You have to play wherever you can get booked. You gain more exposure the more shows you play. Unfortunately, that means playing where alcohol is served.
In regards to alcohol, her mother had a good argument. I guarantee you this school's students eat out at restaurants with their families, and guess what? Those restaurants most likely serve alcohol. Any Applebee's, Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, you name it, has an alcoholic beverage section on the menu. Even some movie theaters serve alcohol. You can't tell me that kids don't frequent the local movie theater with their parents and/or friends. Chances are teenagers at Cramerton Christian Academy see a movie at least once a year, if not more often. What about sports stadiums and ballparks? There is always alcohol available.
So, why aren't those other students called into question? Why is it only Bailey Griggs who was expelled, hm? Would any other student be expelled if caught at a restaurant, movie theater (serving alcohol), or sporting event? My intuition tells me they wouldn't, considering that restaurants, movie theaters, and sporting arenas are considered 'family-friendly.' I can't imagine a school prohibiting students from eating at restaurants. Concert venues should not be any different, especially when she is performing. This young lady's job is to perform. There is nothing wrong with her being an entertainer.
Drugs aren't present at every live music show, or at least not at the ones I've attended. That is not to say someone cannot sneak a joint into an outdoor music festival. Smoking indoors might be harder, since many indoor venues have strict anti-smoking policies. My local theater strongly prohibits smoking cigarettes, so you couldn't even enter with weed. Nothing that emits smoke, let's just say that. If you smoke, you must do it before entering.
After just a few years performing in North Carolina, Bailey was discovered by Dolly Parton's producer Kent Wells:
In spite of this controversy, Bailey has been invited to perform at the Field and Stream Music Festival in South Carolina. She will share the stage with country music superstars Eric Church and Lynyrd Skynyrd. She is moving on up, and is already looking into other homeschool programs to finish out her senior year. I applaud Bailey Griggs for standing up for herself. Wafflesound Music supports her and her family fully and unwaveringly.
Source link to main article: https://cafemom.com/news/teen-kicked-out-of-christian-school-for-performing-at-bars
Another great article: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13635917/girl-expelled-cramerton-christian-academy-high-school-revenge-teachers.html
My love for The Lightning Seeds goes back many years. I've always wondered why The Lightning Seeds never achieved commercial success in the U.S. The Lightning Seeds are pretty big in the UK, but you might get this response if you ask someone here, "The Lightning Seeds who?" However, if you ask someone on the street (in the U.S.) whether they like Blur or Oasis, you might get a different response. This band is largely unknown in the U.S. Perhaps this is because Ian Broudie is believed to have managed The Lightning Seeds as a solo studio project.
In 1989, Ian Broudie, formerly of Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors, formed The Lightning Seeds in Liverpool. In the late 1980s, Broudie became better known as a producer than as a musician, working with new wave and alternative rock artists such as Echo & the Bunnymen, Wall of Voodoo, and The Fall. Under the name "Lightning Seeds", Broudie began recording alone in 1989. The band's name is derived from a misheard line on Prince's 1985 hit "Raspberry Beret," where Prince sings "thunder drowns out what lightning sees." Broudie performed all vocals and instruments on the band's first album, Cloudcuckooland, which he also produced.
His Lightning Seeds recording career resumed in 1991 when he drafted Simon Rogers as his studio partner in production, arrangements, and instrumentation. Throughout the Lightning Seeds' career, Rogers continued to be Broudie's in-studio partner, helping with programming on the first Lightning Seeds album. "The Life of Riley," written by Broudie for his son, reached No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart on the 1992 album Sense. Former Specials singer Terry Hall collaborated with Broudie on Sense for the first time.
Broudie completed his 1994 album, Jollification, at the end of 1993, with contributions from Terry Hall, Alison Moyet, and Ian McNabb. The promotional tour began in August 1994. "Change," the band's second UK top 20 hit from the album, helped boost the tour's success. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the hit movie Clueless. In addition to Jollification being a critical success, singles such as "Lucky You," "Marvellous," and "Perfect" also made an impact. Jollification's cover art features an enormous strawberry with faces superimposed on its seeds by British graphic designer Mark Farrow.
The Lightning Seeds live in Bremen, Germany, performing on Absolut LIVE in 1995:
If Ian Broudie was his own manager, this may have presented several challenges. Professional managers often have access to marketing teams, publicists, and booking agents that can significantly improve a musician's chances of success. An independent musician might struggle to achieve the same level of visibility without these resources. Not that his work wasn't recognized, just not as much as it could have been had he had management. Although juggling it all was difficult, he did well. Simon Rogers was a wise choice as his studio partner. Some help was needed!
Now his career is managed by his grown up son, Riley. Taken from http://www.theguardian.com: Riley Broudie, "Like anyone with a parent, you get to a certain age and the roles reverse a little. The child feels more responsible. As someone who manages their dad, I certainly feel like that towards him. He now trusts me to make sure everything is right for his career. We have a good laugh on tour, and thankfully if anyone needs telling off, the tour manager can do that – not me. Dad knows that everything I do is for the best. The best for us, for the band and for his songs, which are so personal."
One of the best and most interesting music articles I've read in a long time. Their dynamic and father-son relationship is wonderful. They seem very close and enjoy working together and being on the road. You can read the entire interview below!
Interview link: Ian and Riley Broudie look back: ‘My dad expresses his feelings best in his lyrics. If he can’t say something, he hides it in a song’
Whether you're a fan of INXS or Garry Gary Beers, you'll enjoy this interview! The growth he has achieved as an artist is truly remarkable, especially after losing his friend and INXS bandmate, Michael Hutchence, in 1997. It's good to see him making music and carrying on. His new band is AshenMoon. AshenMoon was formed just before Covid hit. Although the band had to cancel their tour due to the outbreak, they filmed the music video "Dustbowl" in downtown LA, which resembled more of a ghost town.
Music video for "Dustbowl":
Taken from https://wallofsoundau.com/: Kayla Hamilton: "Hey Garry thanks for stopping by WoS HQ. Can you give us some background on how ‘Godtank’ came to life?" Garry Gary Beers: "I actually wrote the music for ‘Godtank’ as you hear it, back in 1998. We lost Michael [Hutchence] in ‘97, and I didn’t really touch a guitar or a bass for quite a while, and then the first thing I picked up was a guitar, and I wrote that riff. Not a bass but the guitar- I wrote the riff, and then put down an arrangement and worked on it, and then… it’s been basically sitting in my computer for many, many years. Then Toby [Rand] heard it and said let’s work on that. So until we had a lyrical idea and a concept, it became a whole new beast. So it’s been sitting around for 20-25 years. I guess you can’t keep a good riff down. And we just decided, with our new guitar player, Yohai Portal to re-record all the guitars, let him have his way with it with a solo, and the chorus guitars, and asked him to make it different. So he he did that. And now it’s the way it is." Kayla Hamilton: "So when did you show Toby the riff? And what prompted you to show it to him?" Garry Gary Beers: "Well, Toby and I met I guess, like 5 years ago, at a party. Then we sort of became friends, and we started doing some corporate shows together and doing, you know, fun things, doing covers. And then we started writing and went ‘this is really good writing’. We were just sitting [and] listening to what he had and what I had. I’ve obviously got a computer full of songs that didn’t make it with INXS, or just didn’t make it with other bands, or with that or other projects that I’ve been working on. And then finally, we were playing, having a bit of a listening session and he grabbed probably 3 or 4 pieces of music that I had from the past, even more, maybe 5 or 6, that have become part of our AshenMoon catalogue."
The fact that AshenMoon has adopted music from Garry's over 20-year-old work is very interesting. 'Dustbowl' has a very INXS vibe to it. I haven't visited their social media pages in a while. When I last checked, Andrew Farriss had wrapped up an Australian tour in March. I wish them all well.
AshenMoon’s new single ‘Godtank’ is out now. Give it a listen below, and please check out the rest of this interview!
John Lennon's Framus Hootenanny 12-string acoustic guitar was used by Lennon and Beatles bandmate George Harrison during recording sessions for the bands' 1965 albums "Help!" and "Rubber Soul," according to Julien's Auctions, which sells celebrity pieces. The guitar was also seen in outtakes for the Beatles' comedy movie "Help!"
Lennon acquired the guitar in late 1964, the auction house said, and it was photographed during recording sessions. Handwritten notes from producer George Martin indicated that Lennon and Harrison each used the instrument on "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," according to Julien's. The guitar was also played on songs including "It's Only Love," "I've Just Seen a Face" and "Girl" — and of course, "Help!"
The guitar sold at an auction held at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City's Times Square. The final bid was $2,857,500, making the instrument the fifth most-expensive guitar ever sold.
To read the full story, please click the link below.
Source: John Lennon's guitar, lost for 50 years, sells for record $2.85 million
Emo to me is like a softer version of punk. Emocore is a subgenre of hardcore punk that originated in the 1980s. In 1985, Thrasher Magazine coined the term "emocore" to describe a new wave of bands that moved away from traditional hardcore and focused more on introspective lyrics and slower paced, adventurous music.
The first emo act, Rites of Spring, was led by Guy Picciotto, who later co-founded the influential hardcore band Fugazi. Rites of Spring drew inspiration from punk band Minor Threat, combining rock with emotional lyrics that focused on personal pain and suffering. Embrace was another Washington D.C. emo band, active from the summer of 1985 to the spring of 1986. Along with Rites of Spring, Beefeater, and Gray Matter, it was one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement. A Dischord Records employee coined the phrase Revolution Summer to revive the hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1985.
Rites of Spring:
In the early 2000s, emo and emo pop entered mainstream culture, though emo pop developed in the 1990s. Emo pop (or emo pop punk) is a subgenre of emo with pop music influences, shorter songs, and hook-filled choruses. With Jimmy Eat World's 2001 album Bleed American and the success of its single "The Middle," emo pop became popular in the early 2000s. The Promise Ring, Jimmy Eat World, and The Get Up Kids are also early emo pop bands. During the mid-2000s, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, and Paramore rose to prominence.
This was a time when the emo aesthetic, characterized by band tees, heavy eyeliner, dyed hair, side swept bangs, and distressed Converse sneakers, was more than a fashion trend. It wasn't just about looking cool, but building community and identity through shared symbols. In January 2002, the Honolulu Advertiser described emo people as "intentionally unshowy": "these guys often ride bicycles, keep diaries, write poetry and hang out at coffee shops. They prefer art films to Hollywood blockbusters and frequent independent music stores. They are usually shy and introspective."
I used to listen to Fugazi and dozens of emo bands years ago. I already knew some Rites of Spring songs. A few bands that I liked: At the Drive-In, Finch, Hey Mercedes, The Used, Funeral for a Friend, AFI, Thrice, Thursday, Dashboard Confessional. Bands like AFI sound more like a fusion of emo and post-hardcore than just emo. Looking up old groups and their songs, many of which I had forgotten all about, is fun. Seems I have heard everything over the years!
Here's a cool event I just discovered... Emo Orchestra combines emo rock with a full orchestra arrangement in a live performance. Designed for emo fans and classical music enthusiasts, the experience was created by Ben Mench-Thurlow and his wife Kristen Mench-Thurlow. On September 27, 2023, Emo Orchestra began its inaugural tour in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hawthorne Heights were also special guests on the tour. This year, Emo Orchestra welcomes Escape the Fate as its guest this spring. Escape the Fate will perform their own hits as well as songs by New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance, and Panic! at the Disco, among others.
Hawthorne Heights covers Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" at Emo Orchestra:
With the music and the concert's energy, the orchestra sounds great. I actually enjoy orchestral music with a live band, it's exciting! Check it out if you're an emo fan, and tell anyone you know who is, too. This event might appeal to fans of alternative rock and/or rock music as well. ♪♫
Remaining tour dates:
MAY 21, 2024, Fresno, CA - Tower Theatre
MAY 22, 2024, Sacramento, CA - Crest Theatre
MAY 23, 2024, Boise, ID - The Egyptian Theatre
MAY 24, 2024, Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
Emo Orchestra: www.emo-orchestra.com
