Loads Of Cool Stuff

The PopCulteer
March 30, 2012

WVSU Alumni All Star Jam

If you watched the latest episode of Radio Free Charleston, then you already know about the 2nd Annual WVSU Alumni All Star Jam. But just in case you haven't heard, this show features just some of the talented musicians and vocalists that have passed through W.Va. State. Honoring all of West Virginia's great jazz and blues artists past, present and future.

The line-up includes: Tim Courts (Bob Thompson Unit), Jonathan Wesley (Inspirati...on), Mike "Nemo" Pleasant, Lady D, Melanie Larch (Radio Free Charleston's Resident Diva), Dugan Carter (Full Flavor), Dick Stockton and Bill Hambleton. Marshall Petty from the Charleston WV Blues Society and Jack Rice from the West Virginia Blues Society will be on hand as well as special guest, Hubert "Rabbit" Jones.

The show starts at 7:30 PM at The Davis Fine Arts Auditorium on the campus of West Virginia State University. Admission is $10.00 and will benefit the College Book Fund. Call 304.766.3188 for more information.

WVSU Alumni All Stars And Jesus On RFC 153

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Episode 153 of Radio Free Charleston, "Dr. Pepper Shirt," is the video you see at the top of this post. This is a special episode, comprised entirely of rehearsal footage from two of this coming weekend's events, The 2nd Annual Alumni All-Star Jam at WVSU, and the CYAC production of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

I always feel sort of honored to be invited to bring the RFC cameras into a rehearsal because it means that the performers trust me to document their work-in-progress, warts and all. It's a gutsy move, and a sign of confidence on the part of the artists involved.

Of course, I have a bit of an "in" with one performer. Radio Free Charleston's Resident Diva, Melanie Larch, appears in this special edition of RFC, as does Lady D, the WVSU Alumni All-Star Band and the cast of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

Our first two songs are from The 2nd Annual WVSU Alumni All-Star Jam Band. These are early run-throughs, just the first or second time that the musicians have tackled these songs together.

[caption id="attachment_7779" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The WVSU Alumni All Star Band: Lady D, Dick Stockton, Tim courts, Melanie Larch, Bill Hambleton, Jonathan Wesley and Nemo Pleasant."][/caption]

Monday Morning Art: Reclined

This week's artistic jump-start is a semi-abstract design derived from a photo of Kitty Killton taken last week at Dr. Sketchy's.  It's basically an exercise in obscuring reality with multiple filters and overlays. Click the image to see it larger.

And check PopCult later this evening for Radio Free Charleston 153, with Melanie Larch, Lady D and the cast of the CYAC production of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

Sunday Evening Video: RFC 002, "RVD Shirt"

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Tonight's video is a flash back to the second episode of Radio Free Charleston, from July 2006. "RVD Shirt" features music by Stephen Beckner and The Sleeping Dons (Sean Richardson, Jay Lukens and Deron Sodaro), animation by Frank Panucci and a sneak peek at the then-unreleased Batman movie. This episode also marks the first appearence of the infamous Dancing Midget Spider-man (seen right). You can read the original production notes here.

RFC 153, "Dr. Pepper Shirt," with rehearsal performances by Melanie Larch, Lady D and The cast of "Jesus Christ Superstar" will be posted here tomorrow evening.

A Very Busy PopCulteer Slacks Off And Gives You Cool Images

The PopCulteer
March 23, 2012

Words will be back next week.

Your PopCulteer is swamped with the production of next week's episode of Radio Free Charleston. It's our special rehearsal show. We were lucky enough to be invited to record some footage at rehearsals for two of next week's cool events. Recording and editing ate into what would normally be writing time, so we are going to bring you images this week.

At the iright, you see a digital painting of local starlet, and my imaginary daughter, Kitty Killton, based on a photo from last week's First Anniversary of Dr. Sketchy's in Charleston. You will see a whole bunch more of my digital artsiness from last Sunday in a moment, but first we're going to see three photos taken by Richard Wolfe, of the crew putting on the 2nd Annual WVSU Alumni All-Star Jam. This event takes place Friday, March 30, at the Davis Fine Arts Auditorium at WVSU.

You will see some of the talented musicians and vocalists that have passed through W.Va. State. Honoring all of West Virginia's great jazz and blues artists past, present and future. Line-up includes: Tim Courts (Bob Thompson Unit), Jonathan Wesley (Inspirati...on), Mike "Nemo" Pleasant, Lady D, Melanie Larch, Dugan Carter (Full Flavor), Dick Stockton and Bill Hambleton. Marshall Petty from the Charleston WV Blues Society and Jack Rice from the West Virginia Blues Society will be on hand as well as special guest, Hubert "Rabbit" Jones. Admission is $10.00 and will benefit the College Book Fund. Call 304.766.3188 for more information. We're treating you to a couple of songs from this show on next week's Radio Free Charleston.

We're also going to feature a song from the Contemporary Youth Arts Company production of "Jesus Christ Superstar," which opens next Thursday night at The WVSU Capitol Center Theater. Full details on both show will be included in the production notes for RFC 154.

But now, it's picture time!

[caption id="attachment_7746" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Photo by Richard Wolfe: Jazz Next Week, Alumni Jam with Jonathan Wesley, Dick Stockton, Lady D, Dugan Carter. Mel Larch, Tim Courts, Mike Pleasant, Bill Hambleton. FINE ARTS ON FRI THE 30TH @ 7:30 $10"][/caption]

Metal, Ska and Soul Converge on RFC 152

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Above you in this blog, you see RFC 153, "Machine of Madness Shirt," with music from Linework, The Tom McGees and the team of Chad Foss and Sean Sydnor. There;s also a couple of weird short films and some animation, and Lee Harrah is on hand to plug an upcoming all-ages show.

Host segments were shot at various points on Charleston's West Side. Our namesake shirt this week is "Machine of Madness," by Heartjack. This design is a mash-up of Lovecraft and Big Daddy Roth, with Cthulu tooling around in a Hot Rod. Heartjack is also known as James Mitchell, and he has a graphic novel out that you can find here.

Monday Morning Art: Dr. Sketchy's Pinups

Last night Dr. Sketchy's celebrated one year in Charleston with a night of Pinup poses featuring Kitty Killton, Sarkany and newcomer, Afrodesiac. You see a group shot above. Individual poses from each model can be found on the other side of the jump.  These are just quick digital paintings. Check back in this week's PopCulteer for some more involved images from this session. Click the images to see them larger, and don't forget to come back to PopCult tonight for the newest episode of Radio Free Charleston.

A Loaded Weekend And The ArtWalk Photo Essay

The PopCulteer
March 16, 2012

So many things are going on this weekend that we actually started it last night with ArtWalk, which you will see in photo essay form below. But first, let's look at the stuff to do.

The Pub Crawl

This weekend's big event is St. Patricks East End Pub Crawl. Saturday, March 17 from 6-10 PM it's time for shamrocks and spirits as five
of the most popular East End pubs and restaurants in Charleston host the first ever Pub Crawl.

The pub crawl will run from 6 to 10 PM at five East End venues: Bluegrass Kitchen, Tricky Fish, the Little India Lounge, the Red Carpet Lounge and The Empty Glass. There will be food and drink specials, as well as live entertainment. Participants can earn prizes in the Shamrock Challenge, where they try to find 15 "strategically placed" shamrocks in the five locations and upload images of them onto a Facebook fan page.

Powerful Music On RFC 151 With Buddy Black, Prank Monkey And Karma To Burn

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We are back into the thick of things with Radio Free Charleston 151, "The Tom McGees Shirt," our first all-new episode of 2012! In this show, you will find music by Buddy Black, Johnny Compton with Prank Monkey and Karma To Burn We also get a preview of Danny Boyd's graphic novel project, "Carbon." Host segments were shot on a beautiful, windless, Sunday morning at Haddad Riverfront park. Our show is named after Charleston's punk/ska band, The Tom McGees, and we have news about an upcoming show by them.

Monday Morning Art: Sketchy's Does Kitty Again

Today's Art is a double shot of Digital paintings based on Kitty Killton, your PopCulteer's imaginary daughter, from last November's edition of Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art Show. Kitty will be back for her second stint as Dr. Sketchy's model, along with the debuting Bellarosa, this coming Sunday, March 18, at Kanawha Players Theater. Details can be found here and here.

Click the images to see them larger, and check PopCult later today for RFC 151, "The Tom McGees Shirt," with music from Buddy Black, Prank Monkey and Karma To Burn.

Sunday Evening Video: Back To Square One

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Tonight's video, in honor of RFC 150, is a remastered version of the very first episode of Radio Free Charleston, from July 2006. Check out all the fun with music from Whistlepunk and comedy from The No Pants Players!

Be In A Movie, RFC News, IWA East Coast Photos And Controversy

Go West, Be In A Movie

Last weekend I spent a couple of days filming a small role in the indie movie, "Ladybeard." This weekend, you can do the same.

Director David Smith is looking for extras for a couple of scenes. You get to show up, sit in the audience at a talent show and also at a weding, and there might even be free cake involved.

Let me quote from the Facebook event page, "Want to be in a movie? Apartment 2B needs extras for two scenes in our new movie Ladybeard! We need extras of all ages to watch a church talent show and dance at a wedding reception. We're filming at First Congregational UCC, across from the court house in Huntington, starting at noon."

Let's hear from David directly...

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Looking Back At LiveMix For RFC 150

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It's finally here, episode 150 of Radio Free Charleston. "Black Shirt" is a celebration of LiveMix Studio, our production partner without whom Radio Free Charleston would not exist. LiveMix is gone now, but in this episode, we revisit some of the incredible performances and speak with some of the musicians who helped make our first 150 episodes so special.

RFC Big Shot Brian Young, one of the owners of LiveMix, speaks extensively about recording some of the bands, while we also have comments from performers Raymond Wallace, Dave Roberts, Lee Harrah, Melanie Larch, and in archival footage, Tom Medvic and Dan Jordan of Feast of Stephen.

LiveMix Studio was shut down in late 2010 when it became the property of Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, who decided they wanted to be more selective in the ways in which they serve the community. The building sits empty now, but the memories remain and they are some killer memories. 

Monday Morning Art: Ain't That A Kick In The Head

Today's art is a digital painting based on a photograph of "The Supernatural" Zach Vincent delivering a kick to the head of Smokey C at last Saturday's IWA East Coast event, "Extreme Dreams."  A full photo essay devoted to this show, along with a complete rundown of matches and photos of the surprise appearance of Shane "The Franchise" Douglas, will be the centerpiece of this week's PopCulteer on Friday.

Also, be sure to check PopCult today for RFC 150, our big milestone show that presents over 40 minutes of classic performances from the much-missed LiveMix Studio. And click the image above to see it larger.

Sunday Evening Video: Very Busy

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Your PopCulteer had a very long day, with no time to pick out a really cool video this evening, so here's film of a  monkey washing a cat.

Tommy Dreamer Wrestles In Nitro, OSCAR's Botched Memorial And More Photos From DC

The PopCulteer
March 3, 2012

Hardcore Wrestling legend, Tommy Dreamer, will face our old buddy, Man Man Pondo, in Nitro Saturday night for IWA East Coast.  Dreamer made his mark as the "Innovator Of Violence" in ECW, later moving on to WWE and TNA.  He's facing Mad Man Pondo in the main event of a loaded card.

"The Dark Child" Chance Prophet will face Omega Aaron Draven, and Two Tuff Tony will meet "The Bulldozer" Matt Tremont. Check out the video below the show poster. There are loads of other great matches scheduled for the night.

Tickets are fifteen bucks for ringside seats, ten for general admission. A meet-and-greet will take place at 6 PM. That's an extra five dollars for exclusive access to the wrestlers an hour before bell time.

It all happens at King's Outreach Center (formerly Nitro High School), 302 21st St., Nitro. Advance tickets can be pruchased through IWA East Coast.com.