Taking A Vacation and DC Comics Ennui

The PopCulteer
June 29, 2012

Your PopCulteer is in FestivALL recovery mode this week, so this edition of our weekly blog column is being dictated, stream of consciousness style, to his lovely secretary.

We're going to cover as many topics as we can this week before it's time to quit and watch "Louie" on FX.  So let's dive on in.

A Stunning Announcement

In the production notes for Radio Free Charleston 162, I promised that in this week's PopCulteer I would make an announcement about next year's special FestivALL episodes. Here it is:  There aren't going to be any.

Before you panic, allow me to explain.  For the last three years, I have covered FestivALL extensively, bringing my loyal Radio Free Charleston viewers hours and hours of exclusive coverage of the art, music, dance, theatre, and other events.  This year, instead of doing a gazillion short episodes, I decided to just do two really long ones.  That worked out pretty well.  I'm very proud of this year's episodes.  In fact, here they are again...

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...Pretty cool, huh?  So, you may be asking why aren't I going to do FestivALL episodes next year?

Part Two of FestivAll 2012 on RFC 162

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Radio Free Charleston's coverage of FestivALL 2012 continues this week with another bonus length episode

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featuring tons of music, dance, film, and other stuff.  The city became a work of art and we were there pointing our cameras right in its face.

We kick off with The Bob Thompson Unit, captured at The Shops at Bridge Road, performing on the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame bandwagon.  With the Bob Thompson Unit's smooth jazz playing behind them, we cut to footage of the West Virginia Dance Company, recorded at the Charleston Town Center Mall.

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From there, we race over to Davis Park at the Appalachian Power Stage to bring you a lovely, new "murder ballad" by Oak Hill's virtuoso Americana band, The Boatmen.

Monday Morning Art: Dr. Sketchy's At FestivAll

Last night saw the end of FestivAll 2012, and for us, the final event was Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School at The Broadway.  Penny Maple, Elle Xombeah and Afrodesiac struck their poses and the artsy folk did their stuff. We ended up leaving about halfway through, because I had to get back to work on RFC 162, the second half of our FestivAll coverage, which we hope to have edited and uploaded by Wednesday You will even get to see some video from last night's Dr. Sketchy, along with music from The Bob Thompson Unit, The Boatmen, Bare Bones, The Leon Waters Blues Band and way more.

Until then, enjoy the models, and click to enlarge. Above, you see Penny all folded up. Below you see Elle, concentrating, and Afrodesiac pnking it up with  ukelele.

Sunday Evening Video: Hypno Wheel

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Look into the Hypno Wheel. You are feeling calm. Relax. Repeat..."I feel so calm. I am relaxed."  Repeat over and over..."I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I am relaxed.I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I will go watch all the episodes of Radio Free Charleston on YouTube multiple time. I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I will send Rudy all my old action figures. I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I am relaxed. I feel so calm. I am relaxed."

Don't you feel better now?

Proof in St. Albans and Toys in Wheeling

The PopCulteer
June 22, 2012

Last night your PopCulteer missed his first ArtWalk in years. Things came up and it couldn't be avoided, and that means that we can't bring you our usual huge photo essay. I'm very disappointed because the FestivAll edition of ArtWalk is always one of the most fun, and missing that, and the Derick Kirk benefit, will leave a big hole in the next episode of Radio Free Charleston, not to mention this blog.

But don't despair. We've already got a ton of things on tap to record this weekend for part two of our FestivAll 2012 extravaganza, and we even have an extra-cool treat for this week's PopCulteer.

But first we have a special video for you. The Alban Arts and Conference Center is openimg a production of David Auburn's award-winning play, "Proof" tonight. With all the FestivAll hoopla, opening a play in St. Albans has to be a daunting experience. I ran down to the Alban Theater Wednesday night and shot some of the play for this clip. From what I saw, it looks like Director, Adam Bryan, and his cast have done a great job with Auburn's play about a family coping with the fine line between genius and madness.

After that, we're bringing you a long photo essay devoted to Wheeling's Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum, which is one of the most fun places to photograph in the state.

First up, be warned that there is some strong language in this clip, but check out a bit of "Proof."

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When we went to Wheeling for MEGO Meet 2012 a couple of weeks ago, we also took the time to snap some pictures of the regular exhibits at the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum. Enjoy, and fill your eyes with childlike wonder...

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RFC Does FestivAll 2012: Part One

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Every year during June, Charleston, West Virginia is a city that becomes a work of art. For the past few years, Radio Free Charleston has been there to immortalize parts of this city-wide event in internet videodom.  This is the first of two special episodes of Radio Free Charleston devoted to the sights and sounds of FestivAll 2012.

Included in this show is music from Red Audio, Andy Park, Emily Burdette, The Kanawha Kordsmen and Sweet Adelines and Paul Calicoat. We are also treated to an Effects Makeup demonstration by Rob "RJ" Haddy, a finalist on the SyFy program, "Face Off."  Much of the show is devoted to the FestivAll Art Parade, while we finish with scenes of The East End Main Street Streetworks Art Auction and Celebration, and auctioneer Ted Brightwell.

Among the Art Parade fun you'll see Razor Sharp Productions with Porkchop and Pig Girl, Dale Morton Studio Mascots, Zombies and ghouls from Shocka Con, The West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, The Chemical Valley Roller Girls, The Charleston Light Opera Guild and more!

We didn't come close to making it to every cool event, but what we did capture was loads of fun. Next week we will bring you part two of our coverage, with music recorded at Thursday's Derick Kirk Scholarship Benefit, and cool stuff from next weekend's Capitol Street Art Fair, plus tons of other cool things.

MEGO Meet 2012 In Photos

The PopCulteer
June 15, 2012

MEGOMANIA

Last week your PopCulteer headed North to Wheeling for the annual MEGO Meet, a convention of devotees of MEGO action figures from the 1970s, and their modern-day counterparts. The poster for this year's show (seen right) was a tribute to Neal Adams' classic cover for the "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali" comic book. The folks at The MEGO Museum know how to put on a great toy show.

The Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum played host to this gathering of dealers, customizers and folks peddling new MEGO-style figures. As always, it was a blast.

As always, MEGO Meet was a blast! The odd thing was, I spent most of my money on GI Joe Adventure Team and Captain Action stuff, but the show was mostly MEGO, and rather than blather, I will now kick into photo-essay mode. Enjoy!

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Radio Free Charleston's 2012 FestivAll Preview

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Above this text you see RFC 160, "Deep And Dangerous Shirt," our FestivAll stream-of-consciousness preview/sampler show. We tell you about some of the cool things happening during FestivAll, and we give you some examples of the artists and performers on display. This is not, by any means, a comprehensive guide--for that, visit the FestivAll website. This is just a sampler, so enjoy!

We kick things off standing in The Lee Street Triangle, where, on Saturday July 16, at Noon, there will be a free edition of Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art show, where anybody who wants to will get the chance to do some live figure drawing.

The Making Of "Deco Pop"

As promised, this week's Monday Morning Art will present a step-by-step breakdown of the process I used to create my sign for this year's East End Main Street Streetworks project for Charleston's historic East End.I showed you the finished version that will be auctioned off this Sunday, June 17, last week, but this week you'll find out how I came up with it. Up above you see the design that will actually be printed on a 36" round piece of metal, and mounted on a streetpost on Washington Street East. If you'd like to see it bigger, wait until they're installed, then drive around the East End until you find it.

The East End 2012 StreetWorks Art Auction and Celebration will be part of FestivALL and takes place this Sunday at Habitat ReStore, as you can see in this sedate promotional video...

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For more details on the auction and on how you can bid on the pieces, visit the Facebook page that EEMS has set up for the occasion.The evolution of "Deco Pop" begins after the jump...

Sunday Evening Audio: "That Conversation" With This Blogger

Instead of video this evening, we're bringing you some audio audio. A couple of weeks ago I hsd the honor of being the third guest recorded for "That Conversation" a podcast hosted by Patrick Felton. I had a blast doing it, and wouldn't mind appearing again sometime when my phones aren't ringing off the hook.  You can listen as Patrick gets me to ramble on about pop culture, what incluenced Radio Free Charleston, cable TV weirdness in the 1970s and some of my personal history. If you ever wanted to hear me blather for almost 90 minutes, this is your chance! It's great that Patrick is doing this, and you should check out his other podcasts with Dan Kehde and David Smith at his website.

That Conversation, That Gay Superhero And That Stuff Going On This Weekend.

The PopCulteer
June 8, 2012

This week, your Popculteer is taking a brief jaunt out of town.  So this column might be a bit choppy.  Without ruining any surprises, just be warned that the fruit of this jaunt will make up most of next week's PopCulteer.

But that doesn't that we don't have stuff to talk about this week...

More of Those Conversations

"That Conversation" is the new, in-depth interview podcast masterminded by Patrick Felton and the first two editions are online now, with a rather dubious third one scheduled to drop sometime today.  We told you about the first installment  first installment of Patrick's podcast, the subject of which was CYAC founding father Dan Kehde.  Last week,the second episode the second episode, featuring Huntington film director David Smith ("The Escribtionist") talks about movie making in the Mountain State, including tales of his latest, "Ladybeard,"the trailer for which you will see in the next episode of Radio Free Charleston.

Monday Morning Art: Streetworks "Deco Pop"

For the third year in a row, I have been honored to be asked to contribute to the East End Main Street Streetworks public art program. The last two years, the contributing artists designed bricks which were installed on Charleston's historic East End. This year, EEMS is aiming higher. The contributing artists for 2012 are designing 36" round signs which will be mounted on lamposts on the East End, creating a mile-long outdoor art gallery.

My piece is called "Deco Pop," and depicts a beautiful Art Deco building on Washington Street, in the style of a post-Atomic Age ice cream wrapper graphic. I've loved the look of the West Virginia School Service Personnel building since it was the home of The State Theater, back when I was growing up. It's one of the most distinctive facades on the East End.

Next week in this space, I will show you the process I used to create this design. This week is just a teaser for the auction.

Did I not mention the auction? On Sunday, June 17, the original artwork chosen to be displayed on this public art project will be auctioned at a gala event. The project started in 2009 and made Washington Street, East a mile-long art gallery. Each image, based on the locally designed original pieces up for auction, is displayed in beautiful presentation on large circular signs along Washington Street, East.

The artworks were created in a variety of different media. My digital design is printed on a one-of-a-kind aluminum sheet. At the auction, local musical talent will be showcased along with Mr. Ted Brightwell as the evening’s auctioneer. Cost: $25 (admission includes beer, wine, and hors d'oeuvres). Starting today, you can find out how to bid early on the artworks at a special Facebook page.

Sunday Evening Video: From 2006, RFC Number 3

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For our video viewing tonight, we're dipping into the RFC vault for a treat from our early days, newly-polished for your happy enjoyment.

From August, 2006, this is the third episode of Radio Free Charleston, restored and remastered. This early edition of RFC features a solo performance by Eduardo Canelon, of Duo Divertido and Comparsa fame, plus a vintage video from Charleston legends, Three Bodies.

Also in this show, is the first installment of "Pentagram Flowerbox" by Third Mind Incarnation (restored to the show for the first time since 2007) and the short film, "The Alien Threat" by Frank Panucci.

Einstein, Popeye and Wrestling (not all together)

The PopCulteer
June 1, 2012

We've got a mixed bag of neat stuff this week, a play, RFC 159, Popeye, and IWA East Coast,  so let's dive in...

Einstein and God

The new play by Dan Kehde and The Contemporary Youth Arts Company opened last night at the WVSU Capitol Center Theater. Your PopCulteer did not make it to opening night, but given Kehde's track record, I'm sure that "Einstein And God" will be a thought-provoking and throroughly entertaining night of theater. I'm hoping to catch it next week.

The plot, according to CYAC, is this, "In 1937, with the threat of arrest and imprisonment looming, German intellectual Hermann Strasser abandons his homeland and escapes to America with his wife and two granddaughters; his son and daughter-in-law choosing to stay behind. Settling in the university town of Princeton, New Jersey, he begins a new life as the town baker, while his granddaughters Magdalena, 16 and Emilia, 12, begin their education in public school. As the war approaches and news arrives that their father has become an officer in the German army, the girls are forced to decide between allegiance to their parents or to the friends and lovers in their new-found home.

The Big Bad, In The Company Of Wolves, Foz Rotten, "One Soldier, One Grave" And An Act Of Defiance Celebrated on RFC 159

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That's Radio Free Charleston 158, "Cap Seniors Shirt," that you see at the head of this post.  This episode of the show is named after the controversial shirt that was all over the news last week.

We'll tell you the story of the shirt at the end of these production notes. That will come after we tell you aout The Big Bad, In The Company of Wolves, Foz Rotten and Dennis Strom's film, "One Soldier, One Grave."

Our host-segment story is meaty tale of pointless defiance. But first, our guests this week...

Monday Morning Art: Soviet Nerf Propaganda

Today's artworks are two variations on a theme that I came up with over the weekend. My hope is that they eventually lead to something worthwhile. Until then, enjoy what they are so far, and click them to enjoy them being bigger.

And check back with PopCult tonight for Radio Free Charleston 158, where I wear that shirt from Cap High and present music from The Big Bad, In The Company Of Wolves and Foz Rotten, plus a trailer for Dennis Strom's Civil War film, "One Soldier, One Grave" and more!

Two Must-See Events This Weekend

The PopCulteer
May 25, 2012

This week, your PopCulteer has been pullled in a million different directions, and has seen his writing time eaten away like one of Ed Wood's cashmere sweaters under siege by an army of moths. This means that you will get a greatly-truncated version of the weekly blog-column. Once things slow down we will bring you the long-promised IWA East Coast photo essay, the review of the new Popeye comic book from IDW, more comic book news and a photo essay showing how I came up with my design for the East End Main Street Streetworks project for this year.

But we only have time for a half-assed PopCulteer right now. Hopefully, in a day or two, we will be able to return to our normal, completely-assed status. For now, we have two big weekend events that you need to know about...

One Soldier, One Grave

Tonight at The Alban Arts Center in St. Albans, Dennis Strom's much-anticipated short film, "One Soldier, One Grave," makes its offical debut. The evening kicks off at 7:30 PM. The Facebbok invite promises an evening for the family that will begin with two short films by Dennis Strom: "Martha and Me," (how Martha Stewart's 5-month incarceration affected the small town of Alderson WV) and "Magic In the Valley" (a behind the scenes look at Children's Theatre's production of "Hansel and Gretel").

The Liquid Canvas of James Vernon Brown

RFC 158

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Radio Free Charleston's 158th episode, "The Liquid Canvas," is devoted to the work of Charleston filmmaker, musician, and artist James Vernon Brown. I first met James back in 2007, when we recorded the band Doctor Senator. James was playing bass and had also made several cool short films and music videos featuring the band.

James ended up leaving Doctor Senator and, at a jam session at The Blue Parrot one night, I heard him play guitar for the first time and was blown away with his David Gilmore meets Jimi Hendrix six-string pyrotechnics. I remember going up to him after hearing him play and asking "why the hell were you wasting your time playing bass?"

Monday Morning Art: Star Wars, Nothing But Star Wars

Last night was the Star Wars tribute edition of Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art Show at Kanawha Players Teater. Vorel Sarkany and Kitty Killton, among others,  were on hand to salute George Lucas' cash cow. Here are my two first, quick impressions. More are coming. Click to make them bigger, and return to PopCult tonight for Radio Free Charleston 158, a look at the work of Jmes Vernon Brown, The Liquid Canvas.

ArtWalk In Photos With Bonus Video And Music

The PopCulteer
May 18, 2012

We had another wonderful ArtWalk last night, as Charleston's finest galleries opened their doors late so that the denizens of Charleston's art scene could check out their latest exhibits. The Dr. Sketchy's crew was all over the place promotiing this Sunday's Star Wars-themed session at Kanwha Players Theater. That's your PopCulteer's imaginary daughter, Kitty Killton at right, decked out in Wookie gear. That's cameos in PopCult photo essays in two consecutive days for the kid!

Your PopCulteer took in a truncated list of galleries so that he and his lovely fiancee, Melanie Larch, could catch Thursday's performance of The Charleston Stage Company production of Steve Martin's play, "Picasso at the Lapin Agile." It's a great, intelligent comedy with wonderful performances by the cast and deft direction by Tim Mace. You have two more chances to see the play, tonight and Saturday at 7:30 PM at the WVSU Capitol Cente Theater on Summers Street. You should go see it.

We lucked into something very cool just outside of Ellen's Ice Cream on Capitol Street. A stripped-down line-up of Qiet was performing. We were attracted by the musical saw, but were hooked by the bass brass (I want to call it a tuba, but I know that's wrong). Luckily I have a video setting on the camera.

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You can catch Qiet with The Demon Beat and Tofujitsu June 15 at The Boulevard Tavern. We'll tell you more about that in the coming weeks. Now, it's picture time!

Katheryne Hawkins at Roman Associates

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A Chilling Photo Essay

Last night the first launch party for Daniel (heretofore referred to as "Danny") Boyd's graphic novel reinvention of his classic movie, "Chillers," took place at Lost Legion Games & Comics The Rifleman in South Charleston. The place was packed. It ws a rousing success, and our PopCult cameras were there to record part of the action.

Writer and Director Daniel Boyd, Author William (Bill) Bitner, Author Jason Pell, Bus Driver Peterr Jesus (Norman Jordan), Chillers Graphic Novel Cover Girl Erica Martin and collaborators,  Betsy Rayvenn Allen and Jason Pell were on hand, as your PopCulteer popped in with his sidekick for the evening, the world-famous Kitty Killton.

This evening, Danny and the Chillers crew will be at  Lost Legion Games & Comics, The Keep, in Princeton, 5:30 PM to 8. Friday the tour hits Lost Legion Games & Comics, The Castle, in Beckkley, also at 5:30, and Saturday the book tour heads North to Lost Legion Games & Comics, The Vault, in Parkersburg, at 2 PM.

On to the ;photos!

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Chill Out Tonight

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The classic WEst Virginia Horror movie, "Chillers," has made the transition into graphic novel form, and tonight, Director/Creator Danny Boyd, along with contributing authors William (Bill) Bitner and Jason Pell, plus Bus Driver Peterr Jesus (Norman Jordan, seen above with Danny in a photo swiped from Facebook), "Chillers"Graphic Novel Cover Girl Erica Martin and more associated folks from the movie and graphic novel will appear at Lost Legion Games and Comics the Rifleman, 600 D Street, South Charleston, for The CHILLERS Graphic Novel Launch Party! The fun kicks off at 5: PM and at 8 PM moves around the corner to Mojjo's Bar, on Seventh Avenue.

The CHILLERS Graphic Novel is based on the fondly-remembered 1988 Troma film written and directed by Daniel Boyd. This is the first graphic novel to be released in the anthology series by Transfuzion Publishing. The book features eleven horrifying tales narrated by passengers riding a bus to Babylon and how they "earned" their seat on the bus. These are short, horroific morality tales, presented in glorious black and white, just like the classic stories from "Creepy" and "Eerie" magazines, back in the day.It's a fun collection of short horror comics, and a fun readl.

This graphic novel ties in with the soon-to-be re-release of the moviie on DVD, and the hard copy release of Canadian punk rocker Buddy Black's "Chillers" tribute EP, "Wirchfinger." There will be copkes of the graphic novel, hot off the press from publisher, Tranzfusion, so you can get some of the first copies availalble to the public, and get them signed by authors and cast moembers. If you can't make it to tnight's launch party/book signing, keep watching PopCult for news of a screening of the movie, along with a show by Buddy Black, during FestivAll.

Monday Morning Art: Shapes

Today's art is another geometric study in color composition. Stare at it long and hard for deeper meaning and/or to see the pirate ship. Click to enlarge.

Sunday Evening Video: "Blind Date"

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Tonight we present the trailer for  "Blind Date," a short film by James Vernon Brown, starring Sierra Ferrell. This is an example of James' work for his production company, The Liquid Canvas.  You will see more of James' work later this week, when Radio Free Charleston 158, which is devoted entirely to the work of James Vernon Brown and The Liquid Canvas goes live.

Random Thoughts And Notes

The PopCulteer
May 11, 2012

Your PopCulteer is buried under deadlines and hard at work on next week's Radio Free Charleston, so our Friday column will be a little shorter than usual this week.  We're going to start with some random links to cool things, and then wrap up with some neat weekend events and photos.

A couple of weeks ago, "That Conversation," a new Podcast by Patrick Felton, made its debut and it's well worth checking out.  This podcast will focus on arts and creativity in the Kanawha Valley, and the first installment is a long, comprehensive, interview with playwright and director, Dan Kehde, of the Contemporary Youth Arts Company. The second installment should be coming soon, and after that,  RFC fans may hear a familiar voice pop up.

Congrats to Chris Chaber and The Empty Glass crew on their coming expansion into the New China building. The Glass is a legendary venue, but at times it does get to be a little like the Black Hole of Calcutta in there when a popular band is playing. Now, with accomodations for a larger crowd, maybe we can get Unknown Hinson to return to Charleston.

Monday Morning Art: Automotive

Today's art is an abstract piece that was inspired by classic car designs from the 1950s. Click to to see a bigger version.

Sunday Evening Video: More Color Purple

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The Charleston Light Opera Guild production of "The Color Purple" is an unqualified success. You can read a great review of it here, if the Gazette hasn't hidden it behind a non-working registration page like they have for me. You have two more weekends to see this stunning musical. We were lucky to get to bring you rehearsal footage from the show in Radio Free Charleston 157, and tonight we have bonus coverage. First up, in the clip above, you'll see Janelle Williams as Celie, singing "I'm Here," which we had running under the credits on RFC.

After that, you'll get to see the whole cast perform "The Color Purple." We recorded this the same night, but couldn't fit it into the show. Here it is for your enjoyment. I hope this convinces some of you to come see The Color Purple" May 11, 12, 18 and 19 at 7:30 PM, or May 13 at 3 PM at The Charleston Civic Center Little Theater.  Check the CLOG  website for more details.

Too Much Stuff For One Weekend

The PopCulteer
May 4, 2012

Jam Packed Weekend

It's another weekend where everybody decided to do everything at the same time in town, so your PopCulteer will do his best to dive headfirst into the events pile and come up with the trendiest catch.

Friday

IWA Wrestling

IWA East Coast Wrestling makes its debut in Clendenin for some reason Friday night, and They're bringing former WWE, TNA and ECW star, Rhino with them!

The Color Purple, Godmode Brodway And A Plea

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That's Radio Free Charleston 157, "The Mighty Thor Shirt," you see up there in the box above this text. This week we are bringing you three songs from the newest production by the Charleston Light Opera Guild, plus we have some new music from Godmode Broadway, and a heartfelt plea from The Tom McGees. Host segments were shot around The Charleston Civic Center.

The Charleston Civic Center Little Theater is the site of the Charleston Light Opera Guild production of the musical version of "The Color Purple." The beloved novel by Alice Walker was turned into a Broadway musical a few years ago by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, with a book by Marsha Norman, and it is the spring offering from Charleston's Light Opera Guild, opening May 4.

Monday Morning Art: Wave Sign Detour

Today's art is derived from my preliminary design for my East End Main Street Streetworks design, which I will be telling you about in the coming weeks. My final design has some elements of this in it, but it's still not quite there. Click the image to see it larger.

In the meantime, get ready for Radio Free Charleston 157, "The Mighty Thor Shirt," with music from The Charleston Light Opera Guild production, "The Color Purple," and Godmode Broadway, plus a heartfelt plea from The Tom McGees. It will be posted here in PopCult later this evening.

Playing Godot, Rock For All Ages And Dancing With The Dead

The PopCulteer
April 27, 2012

Wherein your PopCulteer makes his stage debut...

That's right. This Sunday yours truly trods the boards in the title role of the Alban Arts Center production of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting For Godot." This role is so demanding that a different local performer will tackle it every night. It's an honor to share "Godot" with such area theater veterans as Ryan Hardiman, Timothy Mace and Kennie Bass.

To be honest, it's pretty daunting. Godot permeates every moment of the play, and his entrance is one of the most anticipated in the history of the theatre. I want to thank director, Tara Phares Pauley, for taking a chance on me, and I hope I do a good job. I also want to thank my supporting actors, Adam Bryan as Estragon and Kevin Pauley as Vladimir, for backing me up so well. The cast is rounded out by Chris Baker, John Halstead and Kyle Casto.

Monday Morning Art: An Orb

Today's art is some sort of mystical orb. Actually it's an aborted attempt at my entry in this year's StreetWorks art project for East End Main Street. Click to see it bigger.

Sunday Evening Video: Kenneth Brian Band "Something Better"

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Our video tonight is "Something Better" by The Kenneth Brian Band.  This is the Official Video in HD. Shot live on location at The Jinx in Savannah Georgia. Directed by Joshua Black Wilkins.

Next Saturday, April 28 at 10 PM, The Kenneth Brian Band (featuring Charleston native Travis Stephens) returns to The Empty Glass for the first time since releasing the critically acclaimed album, Welcome To Alabama,"  bringing their trademark high energy Country/Rock in the form of a barn-burning live show! "Welcome To Alabama" has been praised as "a Southern Rock Tour de Force" and shot to #2 on the European Americana Charts! Also, this is Roadblock's birthday party, so it's gonna be a wild night! Be sure to pick up a copy of the new album while you're there!

April ArtWalk Alive!

The PopCulteer
April 20, 2012

It's time for another ArtWalk photo essay. We had near-perfect weather yesterday evening, and a wonderful turnout for all the galleries. On the right you see Robert Royce, K.D. Lett and Jesse Tidquist preparing for an evening that melded art and dance at The Charleston Ballet.

Other cool openings last night included Ian Bode's "The Passenger" arriving at Romano Associates, Allied Artists at The Purple Moon, Emily Roles and Sue Chase's “Friends Among the Hills” at Art Emporium and White Oak Photography and Deborah Herndon at The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation.

Good News Mountaineer Garage Gallery featured art from students at Mountaineer Montessori School at last night's ArtWalk.The fourth, fifth and six grade art students at Mountaineer Montessori School have spent the last two months creating woodblock prints, drawings, mosaics, paintings and sculpture depicting the tragic deaths of miners at the historic Hawks Nest Tunnel. Despite the sick jokes that popped into my head

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about this being "children's depictions of death," this was actually a very powerful exhibit, and it showed off some some amazing young talent.

There were also some "Wild and Crazy" folks accompanying Einstein around ArtWalk last night promoting the "Picasso at the Lapine Agile" scavanger hunt, which was shining the spotlight on Charleston Stage Company's upcoming production of the Steve Martin play. "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" opens May 10 at the WVSU Capitol Center Theater.

Enough with the words. Here are the pictures...

Funkadelic Zombie Ska Madness On RFC 156

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Radio Free Charleston 156, "Warning Trioxin Shirt," is posted above for your enjoyment. This week we have music from The Renfields and The Tom McGees, plus we have a terrific short docu-drama by Stephen Schmidt. But first, we have some corrections to do.

I'm pleading allergy-induced dementia for this. First, the Tom McGees' song that I call "Be Smart" in the show, and "Be Strong" in the credits, is actually called "Enemy Spy Plane Inbound." I know, it's an easy mistake to make. Compounding the errors, I announce that The Tom McGees are playing the Porkchopp3D Trailer Release Party April 26 at The Empty Glass, when in fact it is our other musical guest, The Renfields, who are going to be playing that show. Aside from the two huge mistakes in the scripting process, I was really happy with the host segments, which were shot outside of Kanawha Players Theater, the location of this weekend's Zombie Prom.

The reason we have The Renfields, or at least three-fifths of them, on the show this week is that their leader, Vincent Renfield, is the Master of Ceremonies for The Kanawha Players Zombie Prom, which takes place at KP, on April 21. It's going to be a fun night of Zombie goodness, with dancing, contests, Zombie Prom photos by Mike Winland Studios, and special guests, RJ Haddy from the SyFy series "Face Off" and Jeremy Ambler from The Walking Dead. It's going to be lots of fun...people are just dying to go!

Monday Morning Art: Beach Blanket Bloodbath

[caption id="attachment_7889" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Cornelius Dapperdü, Molly Tilley, Pepper Fandango, Elle Xombeah, and Penny Maple, at the beach,  "][/caption]

Last night's edition of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School in Charleston presented nice beach scenes with just a little murder thrown in. Click the images to see them larger.  There's more after the jump.

Sunday Evening Video: The Tom McGees

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Charleston's punk/ska princes play us out of the end credits of tomorrow's episode of Radio Free Charleston, but tonight you get a sneak peek, without the credits rolling over the footage. Thus, the band performs their song,, "Be Strong," live at The Blue Parrot.

Saturday, April 21, you can catch The Tom McGees at The Empty Glass for the Zombie Prom after party, hosted by the Heart of Appalachia Roller Derby folks.  Sharing the bill that night will be Foz Rotten with Charlie Ant Eaterr, plus Hellbound Honky Tonk. On April 26, On May 4 it's time for The Tom McGees to raise money for themselves, to finish their debut album, "This Just In." Which you can also support at IndieGogo.

So there.

Support The Local Scene

The PopCulteer
April 13, 2012

Support The Local Scene

You've heard me say it a million times: "Support the local scene." But what exactly does that mean? Folks, I'm not just talking about music. Charleston has an arts community. We have an overabundance of creative people working in music, art, film, theater, and even in areas that get overlooked, like the culinary arts, and athletic exhibitions.

This week your PopCulteer tells you how you can support the local scene right now!

Sasha Colette and Farnsworth

Tonight, Charleston-area favorite, Kentucky's Sasha Colette (seen above) and The Mgnolia's, with Charleston's own Farnsworth in support, play at The Sound Factory, on Kanawha Boulevard, starting at 10 PM. Admission is a mere five bucks.

The Amorous, Godmode Broadway, DualCore and Stark Charleston Embiggen RFC 155

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[caption id="attachment_7849" align="alignright" width="180" caption=""Love Robot" by Rebekie B"][/caption]

Above you see Radio Free Charleston 155, "Love Robot Shirt," featuring music is from The Amorous, Godmode Broadway and Dual Core, plus the return of Stark Charleston. Host segments were shot in the parking lot of the WV Division of Tourism in South Charleston. Our title shirt is a TeeFury design by artist, Rebekie B.

Our first musical guest on this week's show is Clarksburg's The Amorous. An indie-pop band with spiritual leanings, they will be recording their first full-length album this summer. You can catch them next weekend in Wilmington and Bellbrook Ohio, and at the end of the month they're doing a three-night stand at The Horizon's Church in Lost Creek WV. We recorded the band live during Charcon last year, and assembled this video using audio enhanced with a studio recording.

Monday Morning Art: Beetle Or Spaceship?

For some reason, this post did not go up as scheduled, and I didn't notice until late Monday. This is being post-dated so that it doesn't knock the production notes for RFC 155 off the top spot of the blog.

It's a digital painting. Click to see it bigger. And watch RFC 155, too.

Captain Action's Triumphant Return

The PopCulteer
April 6, 2012

This week your PopCulteer is going to return to his roots a bit. Back in the late 1990s I wrote a monthly action figure column for Toy Trader Magazine. It was a load of fun, and from what I'm told, it was pretty influential. Ii would present the latest toy industry news, rag on cheesy knockoffs and present detailed reviews of the latest action figures

When Toy Trader was bought up and shut down by Toy Shop (we were eating into their circulation, but their parent company had deeper pockets), I continued to write for Mastercollector.com for a while, but eventually I moved on to other assignments (like PopCult and Radio Free Charleston).

However, I never left the hobby. I still collect toys, in particular 1/6 scale action figures. As long-time readers of PopCult know, one of my favorites is Captain Action. Originally released in the 1960s, Captain Action was a cool crime-fighter with a great gimmick--he could change into other characters such as Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Captain America and others (uniform sets sold separately).

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Back in the first month of PopCult, I wrote about Captain Action, and my role as a cheerleader for the short-lived 1999 revival. More recently, I've written about the good Captain's return to comic books, his stint as an 8-inch-tall MEGO-style action figure, and his pending return as a full-sized 1/6 scale hero, complete with cool uniform sets.

Now I've got my hands on the first releases in this revived line. These are the basic sets that are just now showing up at Toys R Us. More deluxe sets are on sale in comic book stores and hobby shops, and we'll list some mail-order sources for you at the end of this piece. This week PopCult is going to play with toys.

Monday Morning Art: Roi #1

Today's Art is a digital painting of a royal ceremonial mask or something. It just sort of happened organically while I was messing around on the computer. Click it to see it bigger.

Also, don't miss RFC 154, posted over the weekend. It presents a look at a lost piece of West Virginia film history.

James Bond In West Virginia On RFC 154

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[caption id="attachment_7808" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Steve E. Beckner as "Bond, James Bond""][/caption]

"Adventure Comics Shirt" is a special episode of Radio Free Charleston, dedicated to presenting once-thought-lost scenes from The Lower West Virginia Contemporary Light Opera Stage Players film production of the James Bond film, "Coalfinger." All prints of this film were destroyed after MGM,  EON Productions  and the Ian Fleming estate won a permanent injunction against the tiny, Southern West Virginia theater company Luckily, a few scenes were preserved in filmmaker Johnny Rock's long-supressed documentary on the making of "Coalfinger."

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