Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
There are a lot of disc jockeys that listeners automatically will tune away from. And then there’s Jonathon Brandmeier, the multitalented WLUP radio personality who has fans willing to pay to watch him perform. Saturday night, in the first of two concerts at Poplar Creek, Brandmeier had Chicagoans eating out of his hands.
Hard rock singer Gary Cherone has a dream, but it’s not about winning Grammy awards or platinum albums. The lead vocalist for Extreme wants to play rock ‘n’ roll until he makes enough money to have an operation to stretch his 5-foot-11 frame by another 12 inches and then join the Boston Celtics.
If things had worked out differently for Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, he would be in Chicago running a karate school today. But he couldn’t get enough money to finance the operation, so Van Damme headed for Hollywood to pursue his childhood dream of becoming an actor.
It’s not difficult to understand why the BoDeans have such a devout fan base. They’re not only good, but they’ve been consistently good since they released their debut album 10 years ago.
From his punk days in the Nuns to his work in the pseudo-country band Rank & File, Alejandro Escovedo made a name for himself as an expressive guitarist who was content to stay out of the limelight. During his tumultuous career, the singer-songwriter’s been a band member, the band leader and, now, a solo artist. He returns to the Chicago area for a performance tonight at FitzGerald’s.
“I was your typical bossy older brother,” Charlie Sexton said, laughing. “But Will really loved music. Soon after learning bass, he switched over to play lead guitar, too. I tell him a little bit of what I learned, but he’s my younger brother and I don’t want to give him a hard time. So I usually wait until he asks for my advice before I go butting into his life.”
One of Matthew Sweet’s most appealing aspects is that while he is making a niche for himself as one of today’s hippest singers, his songwriting has maintained a sweet innocence that betrays his ultra-cool musician image.
Charlie Sexton’s self-titled debut album doesn’t make as strong an impact as his debut “Pictures for Pleasure.” But just when you’re ready to accuse him of suffering from the sophomore slump, Sexton’s skillful guitarwork and deep, emoting voice convince you he’s worth believing in.
The audience is almost as important as the cast in the Apple Tree Theatre’s production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” While the actors are responsible for delivering the witty lines succinctly, the audience is expected to determine how each show will end, and to participate in the acting. Shy people may not like hissing at the villain every time he enters, as the audience is instructed to do before the production begins. They may consider it strange to flail both arms in the air every time the show’s title is mentioned. And they also may feel uncomfortable striking up conversations with actors who plop themselves down in chairs next to theirs before, during and after performances.
Actor Stephen Caffrey was born in Cleveland, attended high school in five different states and now divides his time between Los Angeles and New York. But ask him where home is, and he’ll say Chicago. “My father was in a business that moved him around a lot, and as a result I was often uprooted,” Caffrey said. “The longest I’ve ever been in one place was the eight years I spent in Chicago. It’s hard to describe what bouncing around from place to place is like to people who haven’t experienced it. But eventually you end up just grabbing hold of home, and for me that’s Chicago.”
After spending most of his film career portraying weirdos or villains, Chris Sarandon finally gets to be the leading man – a role he said finds more comfortable. “I’ve been the bad guy on screen for so long it’s difficult for me to remember whether I should wear a white or black hat in the morning,” Sarandon joked in a recent interview. “I’m more at ease now playing the hero, but I still approach every part as a character role. I think you put more into it than if you just play the bland, good guy.”
A woman wearing nothing more than a bikini bottom and a tan walked past a group of men. Instead of trying to get her phone number, they quickly and politely asked her to leave. As part of the production team for “Hollywood Squares,” their job was to keep the audience’s attention on the stars of the TV game show.
“TAMI Show sounded so professional I thought they had already been signed,” Nigel Harrison said in a phone interview. “When I found out they weren’t, I couldn’t believe it. I called up Chrysalis and told them they had to hear this band.
The story behind this sushi restaurant review: AsiAm’s publisher, Tom Kagy, didn’t pay me for my work and wouldn’t even reimburse me for the meal I had to purchase to write this review. I was young and he was an attorney who knew that he could get away with this. It just goes to show that not all Korean Americans stand up for each other. Some steal from their own people and have no compunction about it.
In the first of two Poplar Creek shows, Linda Ronstadt played to an enthusiastic, predominantly adult audience, of many of whom sang along with the Mexican lyrics she belted out in her inimitable, guttoral soprano. I got the impression that if she needed to, she could do just as well without the microphone. The tour is in support of her latest album, “Canciones de Mi Padre” (Songs of My Father). Subtitled “A Romantic Evening in Old Mexico,” the Poplar Creek show was the same production that played for three weeks on Broadway. The two-act revue was as much theater as it was a concert.
Competitive volleyball got major exposure during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles when the American men won the gold medal. But beach volleyball is a different sport, with two-man teams covering the entire court. Sinjin Smith and his partner, Randy Stoklos, are the No. 1 team in the world. “It’s hard to believe I get paid to play in the sun and ogle girls in bikinis,” Smith said with a chuckle. “Seriously, the great thing about volleyball is it’s a sport anyone can play. It’s cheap, and you don’t have to be 19 to excel at it.”
In 1975, actor Dustin Tri Nguyen and his family escaped Vietnam during the fall of Saigon at the end of the war. His best friend wasn’t so lucky. The Viet Cong killed him. “A lot of people say I’m so fortunate to be on a hit TV series. But when you put things into perspective, I’m just lucky to be alive. Being an actor is a bonus. Being on a series where controversial topics are addressed is an actor’s dream.”
When pop singer Tiffany embarked on her first tour last year, her record company used a gimmick to promote her: It sent her to shopping malls across the country where she sang to prerecorded music. Now, with a self-titled debut album that has sold 4 million copies, along with two No. 1 singles and a Top 10 hit, the 16-year-old is performing across the country with a seasoned six-piece band.
Singer-guitarist Dave Pirner admits to playing in some pretty raunchy bands while cutting his punk-music teeth. Today, the 24-year-old musician fronts Soul Asylum, a loud, guitar-heavy group that he claimed is the most “imageless band ever.”
By Jae-Ha Kim Playboy July 1988 “Beach volleyball got some great exposure in that scene with Tom Cruise in Top Gun,” says Sinjin Smith. “Although looking at it from a professional standpoint, their game was a […]