Daily Loaf

Tom Waits concerts are real events: phantasmic orgies of twisted, postmodern vaudeville and rag-and-bone blues. Unfortunately, his last world tour does not translate all that well to a strictly audio format.

Sans visuals — the weird, low-tech theatrics, Waits’ demented carnival-barker stage persona — the music on Glitter and Doom Live comes off as strident and lacking in nuance.

The iconoclastic artist, closing in on 60, now sings almost exclusively in a low, guttural bark that would make a cranky Rottweiler blush with envy. And when Waits is not barking, he occasionally emits banshees shrieks that would cause that Rottweiler to hide under the bed.

All of this gets rather tiresome after awhile. And it makes me wonder what happened to Waits’ other vocal gears: the whispery rasp, the craggy croon, the barroom moan. Those textures crop up occasionally in this 17-song set, but not enough. Read the rest of this entry »

It didn’t matter that she played to a crowd of 225, slightly more than a half-full house at the Capitol Theater in Clearwater — Laura Izibor comported herself as a star Saturday night. She danced, she strutted, she belted out her neo-soul tunes with thorough conviction. And she smiled. Beamed, actually. The 22-year-old Irish artist displayed an easy charisma during her Bay area debut, part of her first American tour. She told stories (in an adorable brogue) to set up the tunes, offered profuse thanks after each, and, it’s safe to say, charmed everyone in the audience. [Photo by Jeff O'Kelley.]

Like Corinne Bailey Rae, Alicia Keys and artist of that ilk, Izibor — the Dublin-bred daughter of an Irish mother and Nigerian father — makes music that blends contemporary R&B stylings with old-school principles of songcraft and musicianship.

Izibor was backed by a versatile quartet — drummer, bassist, keyboardist and trumpeter — and played her own keyboard for about half the show. After the band warmed up with a groove, she took the stage with supreme exuberance, clad in a leopard print top and black latex pants that looked to be sprayed on. Her trademark big Afro was accentuated by a headband.

While Izibor issued a very winning performance Saturday night, she could use some seasoning. Her voice is powerful and brassy, and thus every song ended with a towering crescendo. She’s clearly more comfortable with the big, showy gesture, and she would do well over time to develop a sense of introspection on stage. I’m not talking Billie Holiday, but some added nuance would help. Read the rest of this entry »

Photos by Eric Snider

“This didn’t have to happen,” says Rob Douglas, his 6-foot-4 frame slouched on a sofa in his south St. Pete condo, his raspy voice weary and tinged with bitterness. He’s a linchpin of the St. Petersburg concert scene, his tenure as a promoter, venue operator and production manager dating back to the early ’80s, when shows were put on by enterprising locals rather than megacorporations. He spent 25 years working at Jannus Landing, one of the Bay area’s most beloved concert venues, until August when he severed ties with the downtown St. Pete institution. Douglas, 54, had reached the end of his tether with then-owner Jack Bodziak. “Even with the wreckage of the economy, we could have survived this,” Douglas says. “It was due to piss-poor stewardship.”

When he spoke those words in late October, Jannus Landing had been empty for most of the prior three months, its last show having been the execrable Insane Clown Posse on Oct. 9. Several scheduled concerts had relocated to other venues, most to the Ritz Ybor. Bodziak was beset by financial and legal problems, the most glaring of which was his arrest by state agents in May on charges that he failed to pay more than $200,000 in sales tax on revenues from Jannus Landing. He also owed a reported $160,000 in back rent and faced eviction. A new guy, Jeff Knight, waited in the wings, a well-heeled businessman with grandiose plans and no experience in the concert business. Read the rest of this entry »

The quest for free, unfettered creativity can sometimes lead straight over a cliff. And so The Flaming Lips crash and burn with Embryonic (Warner Bros.), a noisy, tuneless “double” album (on one CD) that falls prey to all manner of sophomoric excess and discards the techno-psychedelic-dream-pop that the band brought to sublime fruition with 2006’s At War with the Mystics.

The unfettered freedom bit is not simply my interpretation. In an eloquent essay that’s more interesting and entertaining than the 70 minutes of music it came with, leader Wayne Coyne documents the band’s goal to strip the creative process of filters, premeditation and fear. “So, yes, more free!!! Now at last to be free from the discipline and focus. Free to fail … free to lose ourselves,” he writes.

Indeed. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the course of its first eight studio albums, Pearl Jam had its share of miscues – usually due to self-importance or over-ambition – but the band was never guilty of being average.

That day has come. Which is not to say that PJ has devolved into just another average band. Far from it. But given the consistently high quality of its recorded output since 1991, Backspacer (Monkeywrench) can’t be accorded a higher evaluation than, yes, average.

Not one of the 11 songs would make its way into the upper echelon of the Pearl Jam canon. These are competent rock tunes, straightforwardly produced by Brendan O’Brien, many of which fall back on familiar PJ tropes, but which lack the menace and abandon that has made the Seattle quintet so compelling over the years. Compared to prior work, Backspacer is lighter and poppier – not a stance that suits the band. Read the rest of this entry »

As someone whose formative years were profoundly influenced by The Beatles, I just assumed that their music was so indelibly etched in my consciousness that I would never hear it in a new way. The songs — all of them, or nearly — had taken on such a mythic quality that spinning them every so often and letting their magnificence wash over me would do just fine. (Pictured: The Beatles circa 1967, (c) Apple Corps Ltd 2009.)

Then on 9.09.09 came the remastered catalogue — 22 years after the initial CD issue — and an opportunity for a new perspective. I was sorely tempted to plunk down the 200-some bucks for the boxed set, but ultimately found the purchase a bit too dear, so I’ve vowed to scrimp and save and acquire as many of the 14 individual CDs as I can.

Which titles to start with is a source of great debate among Beatles devotees, but for me it was easy: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Revolver. (Pepper wins as my favorite in a photo finish.) I was excited, of course, about the chance to hear “Getting Better,” “And Your Bird Can Sing,” “Lovely Rita,” “She Said She Said,” “Good Morning Good Morning,” “Tomorrow Never Knows” et al in crisp new sonic dimensions that took an elite group of engineers four years to accomplish.

But I didn’t expect a revelation. Read the rest of this entry »

In 2006, writers for the English music magazine NME voted 1989’s The Stone Roses the “greatest British album of all time.”

I would not go that far.

But I will assert this: Anyone who aspires to a rock music collection considered definitive should make unequivocally sure that the Manchester, England band’s debut album is part of it.

In 1989 I was well ensconced as a full-time pop music critic, so it’s with a twinge of embarrassment that I rave about an album released that year, one that I completely slept on. That said, to encounter a 20-year-old title that’s an absolute revelation is a better-late-than-never delight.

Sony Legacy has released The Stone Roses in three distinct packages, up to a lavish collector’s edition that includes vinyl, CDs, a DVD, book and art prints. For our purposes here, I’ll concentrate on the “Special Edition,” which is the original CD, remastered, with a bonus track. Read the rest of this entry »

Blue-eyed soul was a term coined in the ’60s for white singers who could sing in an African-American style. Felix Cavaliere was among the first, and best, of the type (although his eyes are brown).

In the latter half of the ’60s, as lead singer for NYC-based The Rascals (initially the Young Rascals), Cavaliere set the standard for blue-eyed soul singing; his pleading tenor had a natural infinity for blues and gospel inflections. When he covered R&B standards like “Mustang Sally” and “In the Midnight Hour,” his vocals were authentic and commanding.

During the Rascals’ too-brief period of chart dominance — bookended by No. 1 singles “Good Lovin’” (early ‘66) and “People Got to be Free” (summer of ‘68) — the quartet evolved from a good-timey garage/R&B band to a maker of sophisticated pop hits like “Groovin’,” “A Girl Like You,” “How Can I Be Sure” and “A Beautiful Morning.”

Like so many acts of the period, the Rascals were overshadowed by the Beatles and other British Invasion acts. They are one of the most underrated bands in the history of rock, and their music has sturdily withstood the test of time. Read the rest of this entry »

So you’re not an economist, not in the finance or banking business; you dump your 401K money into generic funds. You don’t care too much for money, just that it can buy you stuff. You’re like me, like a lot of us.

So why would you ever consider reading Liaquat Ahamed’s Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World (The Penguin Press, $32.95)?

I could tell you that this 500-page tome about the myriad factors that caused the 20th Century’s Great Depression mirrors the economic quagmire we are in today. I could say it’s a cautionary tale. These things are true, but it makes the book sound like medicine.

Why would you want to read Lords of Finance? Because it’s fascinating.

The book’s narrative is built around four unique characters: the heads of the central banks of the United States, England, France and Germany. The complex interactions between these men (colleagues of a fashion, but always looking for ways to gain advantage over each other), their strongly held and often wrongheaded beliefs, their constant tussle between nationalism and the increasingly global-based economy, and, ultimately, their blunders, give us invaluable insights into behind-the-scenes machinations, starting from the run-up to WWI through the height of the Great Depression — and, in the process, the rise of Hitler. Read the rest of this entry »

They saved the not-a-dry-eye-in-the-house part for the very end. As the Michael Jackson memorial stretched just past two hours this afternoon, after a series of speeches and several emotional music performances, Jackson’s daughter approached the microphone, aunt Janet steadying her. Choking back sobs, 11-year-old Paris said, “Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. I just want to say I love him so much.”

If that didn’t get to your tear ducts at least a little, you’ve got a pretty chilly heart.

The second-most famous Jackson, Janet, clad in a black dress and beret, was sad- or stone-faced every time on camera. She neither spoke nor performed. Michael’s brothers Jermaine and Marlon offered tributes, and Jermaine sang a teary rendition of what speaker Brooke Shields said was Michael’s favorite song: the Charlie Chaplin chestnut “Smile.”

Maybe I’ve reached Michael Jackson overload, but I stayed dry-eyed until Paris’ comments at the end.

Read more

No TV at the job? No worries. We’re streaming the Michael Jackson memorial here via Hulu. The stream starts at 12:55 p.m., so leave the window open or check back with us. Comment, comment, comment. I’ll be watching and weighing in.

Go to the music blog, tampacalling.com, to get the feed.

Men’s Health magazine has a feature called MetroGrades, where the Top 100 cities are ranked in various categories: Noisiest, Best For Men 2009, etc. They use empirical data to draw their conclusions, although at best the science is inexact. Still, it makes for good discussion fodder.

The July/August issue’s MetroGrade is “America’s Top Sports Towns.”

Results in a bit, but first the criteria:

• How many people attend baseball, basketball and football games (college and pro) and those showing up at high school sporting events.

• NASCAR attendance and who’s catching their sports on TV and the radio (source: SimplyMap).

• The number of people vying for tickets to any sport, who is buying the most team apparel, and how many people call themselves “foam-finger-waving fanatics” (source: Scarborough Sports Marketing).

Here are the Top 10: Read the rest of this entry »

VINYL:

Against Me – The Original Cowboy
Album comprised of demos from 2003’s As The Eternal Cowboy.

Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes 12”
Highlights the warm weather standout jam “Summertime Clothes,” accompanied by remixes from Dam-Funk (Stones Throw), Zomby (Hyperdub), and L.D. (Hyperdub).

Broken Records – Until The Earth Begins To Part
Scottish seven-piece releases their debut. They’ve already been tipped for greatness by NME, Q, and The Word. “Epic, swirling, joyfully mysterious music with a warmth and heart.” —The Guardian

Budos Band – Budos Band EP
One of the most exciting of the Daptone label bands is The Budos Band, and they’re whetting our appetite for the upcoming Budos Band III full-length with this vinyl-only EP that gives the trademark horn-driven and bass-heavy Budos funk another slot in your collection. Includes a free MP3 download card.

Cat Power – Covers Record
HQ-180 vinyl reissue.

The Donnas – Greatest Hits Volume 16
A comprehensive album featuring a mix of new songs, never-before-heard B-sides and live recordings, as well as re-recorded classics and previously unreleased tracks.

Lots more releases. Read more.

Check out CL’s music site.

Ten days after his death, Michael Jackson is the biggest story in the entertainment world. Some of you may be crying overkill, but I’m still keeping tabs. Here’s a series of the latest links I’ve come across.

Video of Jackson at his last rehearsals.

Jackson’s public memorial confirmed for L.A.’s Staples Center on Tuesday, July 7.

TV networks planning coverage of Jackson memorial.

Billboard: How Michael Jackson’s Thriller changed the music biz.

Billboard: Jackson will likely set more chart records.

Billboard: “Michael Jackson and MTV — The M once stood for Michael.”

Madonna honors Jackson during a show at same arena in London that he was to perform 50 shows.

Former L.A. Times music critic Robert Hilburn, who probably had more access to MJ than any other scribe, writes a remembrance.

Jackson news coverage touches on the tawdry side.

Most pop singers from the ’60s and ’70s who are fortunate enough to still be touring resort to what I call vocal cheats. That’s when they get to a point in an old hit that has a particularly high note they can’t hit — a note that especially resonates with the baby-boomer audience — so they either drop it an octave or turn it over to the background singers.

There’s nothing really shameful about these vocal cheats — it would be worse, for instance, if Daryl Hall tried to hit that big release note in “She’s Gone” and failed miserably. Or if Roger Daltrey attempted to render the big scream in “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and sounded like a frog.

I tell you all this because I saw Boz Scaggs last night at Ruth Eckerd Hall and he didn’t resort to any vocal cheats. He’s 65 years old. Very impressive. When, on “Lido Shuffle,” it came time for the “Lido, whoa, whoa” part, he was right on it — with the backup singers helping, yes, but not drowning him out and thus protecting him. Scaggs came up a little short or a little thin on some of the high notes, but he went for them all.

It wasn’t just the lack of vocal cheats that made Scaggs’ 75-minute set in front of a near-sold-out crowd a success. His voice still has that full, creamy texture of the old days, and his delivery and phrasing brimmed with nuance. (more photos below; all are by Tracy May)

Read more.

Jeff Tweedy doesn’t sound any happier. I’ve always found the Wilco leader’s apparent discomfort in his own skin to be one of the reasons the band was capable of compelling music (although by no means always).

On “Solitaire,” one of the many somber, introspective tunes on Wilco’s self-titled seventh studio album, Tweedy sings in his trademark laconic style, “Once I thought without a doubt/ I had it all figured out/ The universe with hands unseen/ I was cold as gasoline/ Took too long, to see, I was wrong, to believe, in me/ Only.”

Does that suggest that Tweedy is now playing well with others? Or has he finally found the others that are willing to follow his vision. I’m guessing it’s the latter.

In any case, Wilco’s approach on the new album hews more closely to standard song structures than some of the avant-garde-leaning work of the past. Only a handful of songs really stick to your ribs, though, and only one will have you singing it in Read more/audio after the jump.

Check out CL’s main music site.

Hip-hop seems adrift, with no particular faction dominating the pop psyche (or the charts). Bling-rap isn’t resonating as much lately, these being trying times and all. The current landscape is perfect for a multi-facted, thinking artist such as Mos Def, whose fourth studio album, The Ecstatic, continues his impressive body of musical work.

The 35-year-old Brooklyn native — who has, perhaps more than any other rapper, made a mark in film, TV and theater — has never had much use for rules. And even though Mos Def is a middling music star, he still approaches his recordings with a decided indie hip-hop aesthetic.

That shows in his choice of producers —Madlib, Preservation, Mr. Flash, J Dilla — who collectively let the rhythm tracks breath, allowing room for Mos Def’s relaxed, conversational flow. Complementing the urban scrapyard of sounds, snippets of found dialogue and arcane samples are various jazz elements like vibes and horns and a handful of Middle Eastern-type chants.

Mos Def, a Muslim, avoids clichéd ’hood themes in favor of utopian ideas (“Revelation”) and commentary about everyday life (“Workers Comp”).

The album has moments of clever irony — like, on the intro the “The Embassy,” where a captain addresses his passengers and describes in detail the guns they have in the cabin.

Read more.

Check out CL’s main music site.

For all you casual Rays fans, and for those of you who witnessed the early part of this season and figured last year’s World Series run was a fluke, it’s time to start paying attention again.

• The Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays last night 4-1, and now have a season-long seven-game winning streak.

• After hovering around .500 for several weeks, the St. Pete club has busted out to a record of 44-35, nine games over for the first time this year.

• The Rays are four games behind AL East-leading Boston and a game-and-half behind second-place New York, which currently holds the wildcard playoff spot. Their record is better than Al Central-leading Detroit (43-34) and AL West-leading Los Angeles (42-33). (Yes, it’s early — with only 79 of 162 games played — but I tell you this just to reinforce the idea that the Ray are back in the hunt.

• Third baseman Evan Longoria, who’s been hobbled with a hamstring injury in recent weeks, was voted by the fans to start in the All-Star Game on July 14. Left fielder Carl Crawford is having a career year, and should be chosen to the team, as should shortstop Jason Bartlett. Utility man Ben Zobrist (leading the AL in slugging percentage) and relief pitcher J.P. Howell (1.62 ERA) have drawn serious consideration, but Joe Maddon, who will manage the American League in the All-Star Game, may find it all but impossible to place either one on the squad. Read the rest of this entry »

Audio Visions South, the Tampa Bay area’s premiere, locally owned, high-end stereo and video store, will throw the second edition of its two-part event called “The Future of Music All Age Access Audio” on Sat., July 25, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The store’s acoustically exquisite listening rooms will buzz with activities.

The gathering will give music lovers a bunch of useful tips on gear, vinyl, accessories and more, and focus on how to maximize your music experience: AVS invites you to bring your digital media, CDs, LPs, iPod and laptop with you. Here are some of the event’s features:

• A Nitty Gritty LP cleaning station will be set up so your albums will be at peak performance levels when you learn to rip them to your computer.

• You will also learn the best way to rip CDs. Once ripped, you can load all your favorite tunes to your iPod and then we’ll help you figure out how to integrate your iTunes library with your in-home Hi-Fi system.

• You’ll learn about streaming video and the best download method for your set up.

Read more.

Check out CL’s main music site.

Shades of the old days. Michael Jackson is ruling the charts.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks record sales, Jackson’s solo albums sold 415,000 units last week, mostly in the time between the Friday after his death and Sunday night, when scanning for the week closed. 58 percent of the sales were digital downloads.

Because Jackson’s titles are not eligible for the Billboard 200, they are relegated to the Pop Catalog chart, where he holds the top nine positions. Three of his titles — Number Ones, Thriller and The Essential Michael Jackson — exceeded 100,000 in sales, outpacing Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. (88,000), which claims No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It’s the first time that a catalog album has outsold the No. 1 on the 200, the survey of current albums. This week, Jackson has done it three times over.

Additionally, Jackson titles hold the first four positions on the Digital Albums chart, and six of the Top 10

Read more.

Uh oh, the 40th anniversary of Woodstock is about a month and a half away. Did you remember? If not, it’s probably due to the distinct lack of buzz, seeing as there is no official concert scheduled, although boosters keep adding “as yet” in hopes that original co-producer Michael Lang will manage to put together a show in New York’s Prospect Park.

A handful of mostly lame events are planned for different parts of the country, and a tour called Heroes of Woodstock — featuring Mountain, Jefferson Starship, Tom Constanten (repping Grateful Dead) and others — has 16 dates on the books (none in the Southeast). In all, though, it would seem as if folks have other things on their mind than memorializing the watershed cultural event.

That doesn’t mean it’s a complete wasteland. Sony Music has released a well-thought-out group of reissues called The Woodstock Experience, five two-CD packages pairing a classic 1969 album and a complete Woodstock performance. Sony catalog artists Santana, Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, Jefferson Airplane and Sly and the Family Stone got the treatment.

Thirty-three acts performed at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair from Aug. 15-18, 1969, including such long-forgotten names as Quill, Sweetwater, Keef Hartley Band and Bert Sommer. (The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Byrds and a handful of lesser-knowns declined invitations. Jeff Beck, Iron Butterfly and Joni Mitchell canceled.)

Read more.

Check out CL’s main music site.

According to industry insiders, three Michael Jackson albums — Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson and Thriller — each sold 100,000 copies last week. The sales tracking week ended at the close of business on Sunday (June 28) night and will be reported today. That means the bulk of the sales took place in the three days after Jackson’s death.

Those six-figure tallies would’ve put the three discs at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on the Billboard 200 —slightly ahead of the Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D. — but catalog albums are not eligible for the main album sales chart, so Jackson will instead dominate the Pop Catalog survey.

Read more.

First Levon Helm survived throat cancer, then, improbably, he started singing again. And then, astonishingly, he returned to form. While his voice is thinner than during his days with The Band — he is 69, after all — Helm still brings the grit, that marvelous blend of Ozark country, blues and gospel.

His first album after recovering, 2007’s Dirt Farmer (Vanguard), was a treasure, an absolutely genuine slice of Americana that won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album.

Its followup, Electric Dirt, is another triumph, extending the reach of Farmer while retaining its rustic character. The new disc, released Tuesday, June 30, is not simply a plugged-in extension of its predecessor. Although electric guitars pop up now and again, it’s still largely an acoustic album. The addition of horns on four tracks — two arranged by Allen Toussaint and two by Stephen Bernstein — gives the new one an added dimension, some extra oomph.

The horns get into the act right way with a springy version of the Grateful Dead’s “Tennessee Jed,” which has a decidedly Band-ish feel and kicks off the disc with a great deal of exuberance.

Read more.

Check out CL’s main music site.

Police tow doctor’s car, hope to find clues about Jackson’s death.

ABC: Michael Jackson’s death caps years of ill health.

ABC: Who will get custody of Jackson’s kids?

Phoenix New Times: 10 random thoughts about Michael Jackson’s death.

Newsday: Comparing Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley.

Two years ago, Jonathan Berlin was in a bad place. He was the lead singer and songwriter for a band called Bernard that had a distribution deal through East/West, a division of Warner Bros. The trio, whose drummer was his longtime collaborator and best friend Jared Bowser, had played 300 shows on tour.

So what exactly was the problem, you might wonder?

“With Bernard, we worked our asses off to make it happen,” Berlin, 25 (at right in photo), says in a phone interview. “As it turned out, it just wasn’t fun. I always loved writing songs, but after we got hooked up with Warner Bros, I started writing and I couldn’t do it. It was like, ‘I’m writing a record for Warner Bros. This has to be good.’ The whole thing wasn’t really awesome.”

Given those circumstances, a lot of artists would’ve continued to flog it, but Berlin decided to walk away. The Bernard split led in part to a four-month rift between him and Bowser, 23.

Berlin decided to rethink this whole music career thing. And he came up with something of a novel solution: He had to basically stop trying. So Berlin retreated to his loft in downtown Jacksonville and started making music for himself.

Read more.

Videos after the jump.

Check out CL’s main music site.

Here are some links to various stories about Michael Jackson’s death and its aftermath:

New links as of 2 p.m.

Police tow doctor’s car, hope to find clues about Jackson’s death.

ABC: Michael Jackson’s death caps years of ill health.

ABC: Who will get custody of Jackson’s kids?

Phoenix New Times: 10 random thoughts about Michael Jackson’s death.

Newsday: Comparing Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley.

_____________

Jermaine Jackson explains details.

A look back at Michael Jackson’s life in photos.

Reactions from friends and stars: Britney Spears, Diddy Combs, Quincy Jones and more.

AP: “World Mourns King of Pop”

Jackson’s scheduled London concerts leave a tangled business mess. $85 million in advance ticket sales.

Billboard; King of the pop charts.

MTV News: “Michael Jackson and MTV — From Epic Videos to Show-Stealing Performances.”

Never has so much triumph dissolved into so much tragedy.

From kid star to King of Pop to punchline. And now dead. Michael Jackson was 50 when he died earlier today of a heart attack. A shock — but, then again, when it came to Michael Jackson, nothing was.

Some people will dismiss Jackson’s death as a fitting end to a twisted caricature of a life. They might even get a chuckle out of it. I won’t. I’m hit. This is one of those celebrity deaths that I’ll remember where I was when I heard about it. (As it turned it, it was at the start of Cirque de Soleil; I left soon after.)

I’m upset, more than I guess I thought I’d be. But I’m focusing on memories. I was there, watching, when he wowed the country with his pre-adolescent charm on Ed Sullivan, his skin the color of milk chocolate. I was there, watching, as he turned into a man, still with childlike charisma.

I was there in 1979, in an arena in Honolulu, when he performed with The Jacksons, but the most riveting material was from his new album, Off The Wall. I was there, in front of the TV, when he first did the moonwalk on Motown 25 and folks talked about it for days, months. I was there, a newly minted music critic, giving Thriller all of three stars.

And yes, I was there when he gradually sanded his skin to the color of chalk and remade his nose into a button.

Read more.

Six months after she triumphantly joined forces with Jon Bon Jovi on Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” at the Obama inaugural, Bettye LaVette drops this 23-minute digital-only EP, which includes a studio version of the Sam Cooke milestone and five other classics that she’s performed over the years.

The 63-year-old vocalist, whose career was rescued from obscurity by 2005’s I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise (Anti-), breaks songs down to their narrative essence. Her voice is weathered, full of cracks and breaks, kind of like Tina Turner in bad need of a lozenge. It’s a lived-hard voice that, while not adept at soaring melody, is capable of communicating a song’s deeper meaning.

LaVette has the uncanny knack of making you consider anew lyrics that you’ve heard hundreds of times (and perhaps forgotten) . When she sings, on the title track, “I used to go the movies/ And I’d try to go downtown/ Somebody was always there tellin’ me/ ‘Little girl, you cain’t come around,’” stretching the words as a pleading lament, it personalizes the song in a way that I’d not heard before.”

Read more (plus video of LaVette and Bon Jovi at the inaugural).

Check out CL’s main music site.

Boz Scaggs plays Ruth Eckerd Hall Thurs., July 2

To casual music fans, Boz Scaggs is that smooth dude from the ’70s with those disco-ey hits “Lowdown” and “Lido Shuffle.” They might even know about his 1976 smash album Silk Degrees, which included those tunes as well as “Georgia,” “What Can I Say” and “Harbor Lights.”

Although Scaggs’ days as a major hitmaker ended in the early 1980s — in large part because he took a self-imposed hiatus for most of the decade — he has made estimable music in the 1990s and, especially, this decade. And he’s done so by turning to a familiar riff for recovering rock stars: singing old standards.

That news might cause eyes to roll — especially if you think Rod Stewart — but it would absolutely not apply in the case of Boz Scaggs. His But Beautiful (2003) and last year’s Speak Low are among the best examples of a veteran pop star delving into such old chestnuts as “What’s New?” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Easy Living,” “I’ll Remember April” and “Speak Low.”

He sings the material in a supple, torchy style, burrowing into the lyrics, caressing phrases with his round, throaty tenor. Scaggs has a natural knack for seducing you into these literate, urbane numbers culled from the legendary writers of the American Songbook.

Read more, see videos.

Check out CL’s main music site.

Based on sheer numbers, Bonnaroo is a beast.  70,000 people invade Manchester, Tennessee, making it the 6th largest city in the state for over three days. Now your average Bonnarooian is quite a bit different than   your typical Tennessean — full of booze, THC and god knows what else.  It’s a crazy place.

Where else could you find Jimmy Buffett, Ani Difranco, Snoop Dog, Al Green and Bruce Springsteen? For better or worse, Bonnaroo is biggest and baddest of the American music festivals. With 13 stages and tents, hundreds of vendors, and a pretend Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the well-oiled machine of Roo is now in it’s 7th year and going strong.

Simultaneously a radiant clusterfuck and glorious throwdown, it’s hard to imagine a bigger party. And with any party, there’s always the good, the bad and the ugly. For our purposes here, let’s focus on…

Read more.

“I got to play with Bruce. That’s my hero.”

Trey Anastasio said that. After Phish jammed with Springsteen at Bonnaroo. The unlikely pairing joined forces for the R&B classic “Mustang Sally” as well as Springsteen’s “Glory Days” and “Bobby Jean.”

Read more.

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Music contributor Joel Weiss issued this lively splash of music news:

The mid-90’s Britpop feud between Oasis and Blur has become the stuff of legend. Noel Gallagher once famously hoped Blur frontman Damon Albarn would “catch AIDS and die” (he since recanted, blaming drugs for the outburst).  Surprisingly, he’s 100% behind the current Blur reunion: “I’m right into the Blur reunion, ’cause it’ll finish off the Kaiser Chiefs and put them to bed. There’s nothing worse than a shit Blur. And at least the original shit Blur are back to finish off all these other shit Blurs. I’m bang into the Blur reunion.”

From an old reunion to a possible new one: Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznor no longer thinks very highly about former friend and collaborator Marilyn Manson.  Reznor calls Manson “a malicious guy and will step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency … Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he’s become a dopey clown. He used to be the smartest guy in the room.  And as a fan of his talents, I hope he gets his shit together.”

Lots of news on the Flaming Lips, The Cult, STP, Moz, and more after the jump!

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Photo: Tracy May

For nearly an hour last night, the New York Dolls played to type as an aging, reunited rock ‘n’ roll band living off their legacy: solid but not inspired, willing but a little fatigued. Then something kicked in.

“Muddy Bones,” from their new album Cause I Sez So, a song pulled from the early Stones playbook, seemed to energize David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain and the other, newer, Dolls. The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd on the floor of the State Theatre picked up on it.

For the show’s remaining 40-or-so minutes, the New York Dolls conjured up their rambunctious early-’70s selves, sans the drag attire and the heroin and with far better chops. Extended versions of early tunes “Jet Boy,” “Personality Crisis” and “Trash” — which alternated between the early punk version and the reggae take on Sez So — brought the set to a loud, satisfying crescendo.

Read More (with more pics)

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For the last dozen or so years, Elvis Costello has switched genres like he was trying on shirts at the outlet mall: orchestral works, New Orleans R&B with Allen Toussaint, stately ballads with Swedish messo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter, a writing collaboration with Burt Bacharach and a jazz summit with Bill Frisell. He even managed to squeeze in a bit of rock ‘n’ roll.

While his musical bed-hopping sounds like fun, it has served to render his artistic vision a bit fuzzy. The “what will Costello come up with next?” question started to grow tiresome a few outings ago.

Which brings us to Secret, Profane & Sugarcane — his first for Starbucks’ Hear Music imprint — wherein he calls on producer T Bone Burnett and gets the full-on T Bone treatment. Yup, acoustic guitar, Dobro, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, banjo, accordion, mountain music arrangements, the tunes configured into contemporary takes old-timey Americana (matched by the CD packaging).

You may recall that Burnett was at the helm for Robert Plant and Allison Krauss’ Raising Sand, a serendipitous convergence of talent that went Grammy wild.

Read more

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Imagine you’re one of three brothers four years apart who ride around the country in a van that’s tricked out with a sleeping loft. You stay at campgrounds and cook out most nights. You pull the van over on a whim for a hike or to check out whatever catches your attention, be it the Grand Canyon or a roadside taco stand. Now imagine that most nights you get to turn your instruments up real loud and play your own heavy music in front of people who paid to see you.

That’s touring the Pontiak way, and doesn’t it sound like a pretty good time?

Pontiak @ New World Brewery, Thurs., June 11. $7

Somehow van tours have become synonymous with misery, but the three Carney brothers — drummer Lane, 26, aptly named guitarist Van, 29, and bassist Jennings, 30 — see it more as a chance for nonstop discovery. And fun.

“We get along really well,” says Lain by cell phone while driving the van. “There’s the usual bickering. Any time you get three men in a moving capsule, you might fight over the last four Cheetos. But we get on real well. And we smell pretty good.”

Video after the jump

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Yesterday afternoon, I put up a post that discussed the fate of Jannus Landing, seeing as the man who runs it, Jack Bodziak, was arrested last week on charges that he failed to pay to the state more than $200,000 in sales tax he collected from customers. Additionally, three concerts were pulled from the venue by outside promoters.

I interviewed several insiders on the local concert scene, who all agreed: It’s highly unlikely that Jannus Landing will close in the near or short term. And concert activity should remain active. Initially, Bodziak did not respond to requests for comment. He has been steadfastly silent with all Bay area media. He did call me a little while ago, and offered a prepared statement. His lawyer had advised him not to talk freely about the tax case or business at Jannus Landing.

Here’s Bodziak’s statement:

Read more

A cloud hangs over Jannus Landing. The man who runs the concert courtyard, Jack Bodziak, was arrested last week on grand theft charges that he failed to pay to the state more than $200,000 in sales tax he collected from customers. 

Since that bombshell dropped, three concerts have been pulled from the Jannus Landing docket: The Hold Steady, Gogol Bordello and Taking Back Sunday.

The question on everyone’s mind: What will become of downtown St. Petersburg’s beloved concert venue? Very few people want to talk about the situation on the record — Bodziak didn’t return phone calls or an e-mail — but I interviewed a few insiders and pieced together an overview of the venue’s plight and possible scenarios for its future.

The consensus?

Read more

Last time Miley Cyrus played Tampa Bay it set off a Ticketgate, with moms of young daughters up in arms about being screwed out of the opportunity to buy tickets. Many of them dropped several hundreds of dollars as to not run afoul with their progeny.

Let’s hope there’s not another ticket fiasco this time. Actually, the best thing that could happen is that Miley-mania has calmed down the extent that MILFs aren’t breaking the household budget to take 11-year-old young Brittany to see her heroine.

Here we go:

Miley Cyrus will perform at the St. Pete Times Forum on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m.

More important, though:

Read more.

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We’re getting cranked up for Best of the Bay — yes, already — and this year more than ever  we want your input early in the process. We just had a brainstorm meeting to choose award categories for the Readers’ Poll, which we’re expanding this year. We’re in the process of fine-tuning our choices, and we don’t want to miss out on any great ideas.

As usual, we’re going to have a bunch of Readers’ Poll categories in Music. Our list includes some perennials — Best Local Band, Best Concert Venue, Best Singer/Songwriter — and some new ones (Best Jam Band). Here’s your chance to suggest a category you’d like to see. (Best Autoharpist, Best Tuvian Throat Singer, whatever. Maybe even something more sensible.)

We’re finalizing the categories next Tuesday, so the deadline to add suggestions in the Comments section below is Mon., June 8 at 5 p.m.

And just to be perfectly clear: We’re not looking  for who you think should win, just the category itself. Thanks!

Check out our one-stop, all-purpose music site.

Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor & Wanda.

Those are this year’s list of hurricane names. There are six lists that rotate and they do not change unless there is a hurricane that is so devastating that the name is retired, then another name replaces it. Today is the official beginning of the 2009 Hurricane Season. Unless you live on the East or Gulf Coast, Hurricane Season probably doesn’t mean shit to you until we’re knee deep in shit and CNN is into full sprint with their 24 hour coverage.

Check out a few songs to sing, hum or whistle when a new one forms in the gulf.

Go to CL’s one-stop, all-purpose music site.

Doubleday, $24.95

In a novelist’s resume that includes Fight Club and Choke — both made into movies — Chuck Palahniuk has regularly delivered some shocking (he calls it trangressional) fiction. Most of his work has dealt with twisted people engaged in some sort of repugnant, or at least socially unacceptable, behavior.

With his new book, Pygmy, the author takes his highly stylized approach to a new level, telling the story of a handful of young adults from a totalitarian state who have infiltrated the U.S. as high school students and bent on perpetrating a terrorist act: Operation Havoc. The reader is never given a detailed description of the title character, but we can assume he’s on the smallish side.

To up the ante, Palahniuk writes the entire book as missives from Pygmy to some unnamed KGB-esque institution. Every chapter starts “Begins here first (second, third, etc.) account of operative me, agent number 67,” followed by a place and other vital info that’s blacked out.

Pygmy doesn’t have much command of English. Arriving at the airport, he writes, “Passport man strike paper of book with ink, marked good to enter nation.” Read the rest of this entry »

Rock history is rife with bands whose legendary status is all out of proportion with the amount of tangible success they had in their heyday.

New York Dolls @ State Theatre, Tues., July 9. $25.

There is no better example of this trope than the New York Dolls. They are revered as proto-punks, early players on the lower Manhattan scene that produced The Ramones, Television, Talking Heads et al. Their look fell somewhere between androgynous and full-out drag, and for that they are credited as a major influence on glam-metal.

The Dolls released only two albums during their initial run: 1973’s self-titled LP and the following year’s Too Much Too Soon. Both were critical darlings and commercial stiffs. The band broke up in ’75.

The original Dolls were plagued by abject drug abuse — the late guitarist Johnny Thunders was a classic junkie — and dysfunction, but, according to frontman David Johansen, the main reason the Dolls packed it in was that they were broke and hungry.

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I’ve come to terms recently that I like to be rushed when I write. I usually wait till the very last moment to start doing all my writing. Drafts? Pfft. Who needs those? I shoot from the hip. When my iPod plays the five songs that are to be used for an issue I immediately try to tie them all together in some kind of basic theme or idea.

Something to make it interesting and make you, the reader, keep reading. For this issue however, a lightning storm went off over my head. I guess it was only a matter of time considering the incessant rain we’ve been getting here in ol’ sunny Florida. Sunshine State my ass.

Read more.

Tito Puente
Dance Mania
(RCA/Legacy)

Mainstream America’s embracement of Latin music really took hold in the latter half of the 1950s with the “mambo craze.” Despite its faddish overtones and eventual disintegration into novelty (”Mambo Italiano”), this particular craze inspired some terrific music, none better than Tito Puente’s Dance Mania, which in 2000 was named one of the 25 “most significant albums” of the 20th century by the New York Times.

Puente, a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican heritage, was a brilliant percussionist (especially on timbales), composer and arranger, all of which are on display in this two-CD expanded edition that includes the original album and 1960’s Dance Mania Vol. 2 (both with bonus tracks). Read more.

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Wow. Not good.

The Tampa Bay Rays lost their fourth in a row last night, a rain-delayed 12-7 battering in Cleveland. I wrote yesterday that it was a Big Game, that in light of recent setbacks and injuries, the Rays needed to right the ship. Fast. They didn’t get it done.

The Rays apparently looked lackluster an dispirited in the loss. I say apparently because, suffering from sports-viewing overload, I only caught a portion of an inning last night. It was all I needed to see.

Third inning. Starter Andy Sonnanstine was allowing his first-inning 5-0 lead ito disappear. It was like the Indians were having batting practice, as if they were hitting balls, tennis-style, into 10-foot squares. Four hits, three runs. Indians 8, Rays 6. Read the rest of this entry »

He was the bespectacled white kid from the suburbs trying to sit in with musical legends in New Orleans. But instead of getting the cold shoulder, drummer Stanton Moore was welcomed on the bandstand by any number of prominent players. And the crowd dug him, too.

Stanton Moore Trio, tonight, 8 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City. $10.

“To tell you the truth, when I was coming up and they’d let me sit in, the regulars at the bar would be, ‘Listen to the white kid,’” Moore says by cell phone on his way to a recording session in the Crescent City. “They’d be dancing and egging me on. They were real supportive.”

It probably wouldn’t have gone quite so well if young Stanton had sucked. But from an early age, he committed to learning the distinctive, tricky and at times peculiar nuances of the New Orleans drumming style. (See his video demonstrations at the bottom of this post.)

“I had a great guy who taught me the basic rudiments,” Moore says. “But it was a real challenge to go from that to learning from [storied NOLA drummer Johnny Vidacovich] to loosen up. But I was determined. I really worked on how to loosen it up and apply it to my drum set.”

read more

Now that latest wave of rock legends from the ’60s has passed that used-to-be retirement age of 65, a new crop of important artists is closing in on 60. Over the last few months, it surprised me to discover just how many prominent rockers were 59. Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Tom Waits, Stevie Wonder, to name a handful.

I got curious if this was a particularly good age for rockers. Rather than telling you how many rock artists are 59 at this very moment, I did a search and unearthed which ones were born in 1950, the height of the post-WWII baby boom. Quite a few, as it turns out. Here’s a chronological list of pop artists born in 1950. A pretty good year. The list is extensive but not all-inclusive:

January 9, 1950, David Johanson (New York Dolls, Buster Poindexter)
January 5, 1950, Chris Stein, (Blondie)
January 21, 1950, Billy Ocean
January 23, 1950, Danny Federici (E Street Band)

January 23, 1950, Pat Simmons (Doobie Brothers)

February 6, 1950, Natalie Cole
February 12, 1950, Steve Hackett (Genesis)
February 20, 1950, Walter Becker (Steely Dan)
March 2, 1950, Karen Carpenter (The Carpenters)
March 4, 1950, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
March 21, 1950, Roger Hodgson (Supertramp)
March 26, 1950, Teddy Pendergrass

March 27, 1950, Tony Banks (Genesis)

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Huh? — you’re saying. Big game? In Cleveland? The 48th game of a 162-game season. Yes. Here’s why:

The Rays managed to go a game over. 500 last week and things were looking damn near rosy. Here’s what happened since. They lost to the Florida Marlins in 11 innings; then came The Collapse, an 11-10 loss to the Cleveland Indians, followed by last night’s lethargic 5-1 loss to Cleveland.

In the process, the team lost second baseman Akinori Iwamura for the season when he tore knee ligaments trying to turn a double play, lost shorstop Jason Bartlett, who was leading the American League in batting average, to a  sprained ankle. He’s on the 15-day Disabled List. Starting pitcher Scott Kazmir was also put on the DL to fix his ever-vexing mechanics (and probably get see a shrink as well). Alleged closer Troy Percival left the team with shoulder soreness, and returned to California to contemplate retirement.

Less obvious, but still having an effect:Third baseman Evan Longoria has cooled off at the plate (down to .324 and not knocking in as many runs). First baseman Carlos Pena has misplaced his homerun stroke for the time being. The bullpen continues to struggle. Matt Garza, the most dependable starter, took a loss and gave up three homeruns last night. Read the rest of this entry »

Strange days, indeed.

Being a fan of Central Florida sports franchises in the last week or so has been like riding on a rollercoaster inside a gyroscope inside a paint mixer.

Let’s set aside the Bucs — the team with more question marks than an midterm exam — and concentrate on teams that are playing. The Tampa Bay Rays, yeesh. It seems whenever the ballclub reaches the .500 mark, it feels the need to open the gun cabinet, extract a Tech 9 and promptly shoot itself in the foot. Last night, the perfect case in point.

Vaunted pitcher David Price made his season debut, and the Rays staked him to a 10-0 lead. But he could not pitch with enough command, even though he threw as fast as 98 mph, to last the requisite five innings to notch his first regular season win.

My wife knows very little about baseball, but when she saw that the Rays were ahead 10-4 in the 9th, she said, “It’s impossible to come back from six runs with only one inning left.” We (actually, I) switched our attention to the Nuggets/Lakers game in hopes that Satan’s spawn, Kobe Bryant, would go down.

Obviously my wife’s prediction was wrong. At halftime of the NBA game, a crawl on ESPN told that the Indians had come back and won the game in the bottom of the 9th, 11-10. Just like that: a laugher to a heartbreaker, the biggest collapse in team history.

Me? I’m glad I put a Rays win in the books prematurely ’cause I spared myself the anguish of watching them implode. And I also got to focus my mojo on a Lakers loss, which happened: 120-101.

For weeks it’s been frustrating to watch the Rays score 12, 13, 15 runs in blowouts and then the next day score 2 or 3 and often lose. I will say that it goes from frustrating to jarring when the team reaches double figures in runs — and loses on a walkoff single.

But let’s turn to more pleasant matters: The Orlando Magic/Cleveland Cavaliers series. Read the rest of this entry »

When I was a freshman in college, my parents went on a vacation to Cape Cod, but I had to stay home and work. That left the house to me …

A skip-in-my-step morning.

Photo: Winslow Townson, Associated Press

Last Wednesday, I ranted on this blog about how the Orlando Magic and the Tampa Bay Rays (but mostly the Magic) were making me come unglued. My, how things can change in just a few days.

After a historic collapse in Game 5 of their best-of-seven playoff series with Boston Celtics, the Magic rallied to win the next two games, including last night’s Game 7 in Boston (101-82), and will move to the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

For good measure, the Rays came from behind in a weird, eventful game to beat the Cleveland Indians 7-5 for their third win in a row.

But today I’m posting up about the Magic.

On Wednesday, center Dwight Howard caused a flap by calling out coach Stan Van Gundy, questioning his decisions, his poise and, above all, how the coach permitted the team to freeze out their All-Star center. Howard said, in effect, let the Big Dog eat.

His complaints didn’t go over well. And, as it turns out, it was the best thing that could’ve happened. The star-vs.-coach flap was the intangible ingredient that propelled the Magic to the win over the Celts. Read the rest of this entry »

A pit-in-the-stomach morning.

It’s been a bad few days to be a fan of central Florida’s professional sports teams. I’m referring specifically to the Tampa Bay Rays and Orlando Magic.

On Sunday night and last night, both teams played at about the same time, which had me working the “Last” button on the remote a lot, but mostly sticking with the Magic because a) It’s the NBA Playoffs vs. early in the MLB regular season; b) I’m more of a hoops fan and c) basketball is a more entertaining sport.

At any rate, both teams lost both games in particularly heartbreaking +/or frustrating fashion. Especially the Magic. With a chance to take a dominating 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series on Sunday, Orlando saw a 20-foot jumpshot by Boston’s Glen “Big Chubby” Davis, slink through the net at the buzzer for a one-point loss.

Hey, shit happens.
Read the rest of this entry »

One of the keys to the Rays’ surprise success last year was how frequently they won close games. That trend not only contributed to a winning season, but made it an exciting season as well.

This year, the St. Pete ball club is trending the opposite. The Rays have lost six games by one run, two games by two runs. They’ve won three games by one run and two games by two runs. That’s 13 of the team’s 33 games we’ll categorize as close. Exiting, yes, but their record in those games is 5-8.

The Rays have not performed well in the clutch so far in their 15-18 campaign — be it a bullpen collapse, starting pitching that digs the team an early hole, the inability to score a crucial run when circumstances say they should (e.g. man on third, nobody out) or a key defensive miscue.

And there’s this: If only the Rays could have a more even distribution of runs. What fan hasn’t had this feeling when the Rays pile up the runs in a game? — Hey, save some for tomorrow.

In games in which the Rays have scored eight runs or more and won, they have followed with a loss six times and won twice.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just in case you needed reminding, or a little bit more stress in your life, this came in from the Pinellas County Health Department:

The Florida Department of Health has set up a Swine Flu Information Line that gives information regarding precautions to take to avoid getting the flu, symptoms, how the disease is spread, and what the DOH is doing to protect its visitors and residents.

The toll free number is 1-800-775-8039.

For a different perspective, check out this swine flu reality check.

Also … just wondering: What if this purported pandemic were just called “the flu?”

“The whole purpose of the law is to stifle speech against people who speak against the deviant [gay] lifestyle.” —Bill Keller

The first and second installments of The Devi’s Advocate with Bill Keller drew lots of traffic and comments. Welcome to our third Q&A. I’ll be playing the role of Devil’s Advocate.

One of our most controversial religious figures, Pinellas-based Bill Keller is known for his incendiary rhetoric and unbending view of Bible-based morality. He believes homosexuality is an abomination, abortion is murder and … you can pretty much guess the rest. Click here for a bit more detail on Keller’s ministry.

Today’s Topic: The U.S. Congress is in the process of expanding Hate Crimes laws to include “sexual orientation,” “gender” and “gender identity” to federally protected classes that already include race, religion, color or national origin. Bill Keller doesn’t like this at all.

The Devil’s Advocate: By opposing the addition of gender identity to the existing hate crimes bill, does that mean you’re OK with crimes against gays?

Bill Keller: Absolutely not. I’m not in favor of any hate crimes legislation. If there’s an existing crime statute on the books, you’re going to be punished. If you commit a crime against one of the protected groups, what are you going to get? Three life sentences? It’s redundant.

So why are you concerned about adding gender identity to the law? Read the rest of this entry »

I have a number in my head. 10. It’s not a magic number, more like a dreaded number.

I guess it’s kind of arbitrary, certainly not based on meticulous statistical analysis, but when it comes to the Rays, the number 10 keeps popping up in my head. As in:

The Rays cannot afford to go 10 games under .500. They are half way there. At 7-12, they are five games below .500, they sit in last place, 6 1/2 games out of first . Yes, it is early in a 162-game season, but it only stays early for so long. And I don’t care at what stage the season is, 10 games under .500 is a big, big hole.

It’s unlikely the Rays will lose five in a row to reach that dreaded number, but it’s conceivable they could go 2-7, making them 9-19. At their current pace, the Rays would be 14-24 nearly a quarter of the way through the campaign.

Manager Joe Maddon is saying all the right things about not panicking, about how things are bound to turn around. And baseball is such a mercurial game, not to mention that the Rays have considerable talent, that’s it’s tempting not to chalk this up to a slow start that’s bound to right itself.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m no NFL draft geek, but I do follow along to a point. I at least watch the first round, and check in periodically after that.

Which brings me to last weekends draft,  particularly that of the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The franchise opted to select what it perceived as a franchise quarterback with the 17th pick in the first round: Josh Freeman, a big, strong-armed kid out of Kansas State.

I like the pick. Not so much because I like Josh Freeman as a player — I’ve only seen highlight reels. And over the last couple of days listening to the gnashing of teeth on sports radio, I’ve come to understand that he has some flaws in his game — a poor completion percentage in college, a high number of interceptions — that make him a major risk, and a potential bust.

I like the pick because the new Bucs braintrust has shown that it’s sick of the same-ol’-same-ol’.

Read the rest of this entry »

… it’s pretty damn cool.

Some time in the middle innings of last night’s Rays home opener against the Yankees, communications director Chris Costello ambled by my spot in the press box and told me that owner Stuart Sternberg was doing an impromptu media session across the room.

I hustled over and joined the throng; Stu answered questions but kept peering past heads to keep and eye on the field. At one point, he quickly diverted his attention in time to see B.J. Upton’s remarkable back-toward-the-field grab, which is destined to go down in Rays highlight lore, probably as “the Willie Mays catch.”

I was there with my handy Flip video camera and caught Stu’s reaction and that of the press people surrounding him. It’s a quick portrait of an owner who understands his obligation to the media, but is first and foremost a fan of his team.

Here’s the video of the catch from the pressbox:

Read the rest of this entry »

Tropicana Field got some nice new interior decorating last night: two pennant-shaped flags, simple blue letters on a white background, flying high in left field, guaranteed never to get weathered and never to flap in the breeze.They read:

• AL East 2008 Champions

• American League 2008 Champions

(I would have liked to insert a photo of them here, but the CL house camera lacks a telephoto lens. I snapped this pic of B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria during batting practice; it’ll have to suffice.)

The Tampa Bay Rays raised the banners in a pomp-filled pregame ceremony, every bit of which the team and the town and the sold-out crowd deserved. In a nice touch, several Rays players carried the rolled-up flags from the dugout to left field for their ascension to the rafters.

The rest of the night went according to script: The Rays trounced — or is that pounded, or slaughtered? — the New York Yankees 15-5, and had the mercy rule had been in effect, New York might not have put up some late-inning runs.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kazmir  gets the Yankees 1-2-3. Bottom first, Upton steals two bases, Crawford 1; Pena knocks them in with a double into the right centerfield gap; Pat Burrell knocks in Pena with a double into the left centerfield gap. 3-0, 1 out.

Navarro gets an infield single and moves Burrell to third.

Gabe Gross keeps fouling off 1-2 pitches. Yankees already have a pitcher up in the bullpen.

4-0 at end of first.

Upton makes great catch in center. Yanks go 1-2-3.Bottom 2nd, 0 outs, Bartlett singles, steals second, Upton bunts him over to third and beats out the throw for a single. Huddle on Yankees pitching mound.

All this happening as two flags hang high in left field. AL East 2008 Champs and (slightly larger) American League 2008 Champions. Nice.

Longoria draws a bases loaded walk, 5-0 Rays. Yanks yank pitcher Chien-Ming Wang.

Whoa shit, Pena GRAND FUCKING SLAM. 9-0. I’m not making this shit up!

Bottom 3rd: Bartlett hits home run on first pitch of the inning. 10-0. Surreal. Yankees have one single.

It’s almost 6:15, about 35 minutes before the Tampa Bay Rays unveil their American League Championship flag and an hour before Scott Kazmir throws the first pitch in the Rays home opener against the NY Yankees.

I’ve been hanging around since before 3, checking out batting practice and pregame interviews. Mostly fly-on-the-wall stuff. Fans were allowed in at 4 and a bunch of kids gathered in the outfield bleachers to catch homerun balls during BP.

And some adult fans have just gathered to show their appreciation:

Here’s a few random observations and some more pics:

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the second installment of Michael Troy’s new blog. (Check out Vol. 1.)

Suicide Betty, who we called Miami Betty until she killed herself, was a young woman whose life had been filled with bad luck. She was a beauty — part Seminole Indian, part Cuban, part white trash — who already looked considerably older than her 22 years.

She’d grown up in foster homes around the Miami area. Her foster parents, men and women alike, had spent most of the time that Betty was in their care fucking her and then beating her up, or beating her up and then fucking her.

She would run away constantly. On the streets, she’d turn tricks or sell drugs. Much of her time was spent at Miami-Dade Women’s Correctional Facility. But it didn’t matter what city she took off to; wherever she went she had a near genius for finding the worst part of town, turning the wrong trick, and winding up busted.

During her time in prison she grew to mistrust men and to rely on women. Betty wasn’t big or tough. Her only hope for survival was in being adopted by the roughest of the older prison dykes and the most hooked-up of the guards.

Read the rest of this entry »

“You could call it the Sodomite community, but that only affirms the male aspect (laughs). “Homosexuality” at least encompasses men and women.” —Bill Keller

The first installment of The Devil’s Advocate with Bill Keller drew lots of traffic and more than a hundred comments. Welcome to our second Q&A. I’ll be playing the role of Devil’s Advocate.

One of our most controversial religious figures, Pinellas-based Bill Keller is known for his incendiary rhetoric and unbending view of Bible-based morality. He believes homosexuality is an abomination, abortion is murder and … you can pretty much guess the rest. Click here for a bit more detail on Keller’s ministry.

Today’s Topic: Is Bill Keller a hatemonger?

The Devil’s Advocate: Your adversaries often call you a hatemonger, or something along those lines. So I guess the most basic question is: Do you hate people who don’t conform to your Bible-based views?

Bill Keller: You know, that is probably the most laughable charge ever levied against me. If I hated people, nobody would know my name. The fact is, I love people. I love people enough to tell them the truth. If I didn’t care, if I was a hatemonger, I wouldn’t do what I do.

I don’t want to see people go through the tragedies of this life. I want people to be happy in this life and enjoy the life everlasting, and I know that’s only possible through Jesus Christ. The fact that I tell the truth isn’t an act of hate, it’s an act of love.

The way you say things about people — gays, Muslims, Mormons and the like — is often done with a harsh, judgmental tone. It doesn’t sound all that loving.
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Today we introduce Michael Troy’s new blog Sex in the Shadows. Michael has made a life’s work out of exploring the darker boundaries of the sexual experience. His adventures will take you places you may have not dared to go — not yet, at least.

I’m prowling MLK and Florida Avenue in Tampa because I know that with five dollars in my pocket I can get a blowjob here.

What the Tampa Chamber of Commerce doesn’t tell you is that Tampa is the easiest city in the U.S. to get fucked in. Behind all the sanctimony, and the Marriage-is-between-a Man-and-a-Woman bullshit, among all the churchgoers, the SUV drivers and the Bucs fans, Tampa is populated by a hotbed of freaks.

The crack whores on MLK look like they’re pretty evolved on the chain of transmittable diseases, so even though I’m not exactly a safety-first kind of guy, I make a turn onto Nebraska.

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The roar returns. If you’ve never been within earshot of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, it’s difficult to imagine it. Suffice to say that it’s spectacularly loud. I live about five miles north of the 1.8-mile, 14-turn racetrack in downtown and I can hear those zoom-zooms in my living room.

Of course, it’s advantageous to get within eyeshot of the Grand Prix to fully appreciate the speed, dazzle and dexterity of the open-wheel Indy racecars.

For the first time, the St. Pete Grand Prix, held April 3-5, is the opening race on the 17-race IndyCar schedule. One of the marquee drivers in the race is Dan Wheldon, an Englishman who resides in the ‘burg.

When asked about what drew him most to his adopted hometown, he said. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the weather, but the entire city is very picturesque. St. Pete has everything a big city does, but it has a small town feel to it. There is very little traffic to deal with, it’s very easy to get around and people are very nice.

“And, ultimately, this is where my racing career in America started because it’s where my first team was based, so that has always made it a special place for me. My family really loves it here.”

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“If you vote for Mitt Romney you are voting for Satan.” —Bill Keller

Bill Keller is one of the most controversial religious figures in Tampa Bay … or Florida … or the country, for that matter. The conservative Christian evangelist has no formal pulpit, at least not in a brick-and-mortar church, but he does get his message out far and wide via a radio show, Live Prayer with Bill Keller, weeknights from 11 p.m. to midnight on WWBA-AM 820; his Daily Devotional, which gets e-mailed to more than 2-million people a day; and his website, liveprayer.com, which, with help from his staff, answers prayer requests via e-mail.

Keller is known for his incendiary rhetoric and unbending view of Bible-based morality. He believes homosexuality is an abomination, abortion is murder and … you can pretty much guess the rest.

I profiled Keller for this publication about five years ago and have maintained contact with him. He has always welcomed participating in hostile forums — the idea being that he should go where the sinners are. Creative Loafing being the haven for sinners that it is, Keller and I have decided to do a series of Q&A’s. It’s called The Devils Advocate Talks to Bill Keller. In case it’s not clear, I’ll be playing the role of the Devil’s Advocate.

Today’s topic:

Keller recently called out the IRS, which he says has investigated whether he breached his tax exemption by railing against political candidates during the ’08 campaign. The tax code bars religious institutions or their leaders from advocating for or against candidates. His main targets: Obama, McCain, Hilary Clinton and, especially, Mitt Romney, of whom he said, “If you vote for Mitt Romney you are voting for Satan..”

The St. Petersburg Times covered this story a few weeks ago. Check it out if you’d like more background.

The Devil’s Advocate: You said, “If you vote for Mitt Romney you are voting for Satan.” Why?

Bill Keller: That got taken from a devotional I did, warning people that Romney is part of the Mormon cult.

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Today’s topic: coitus vs. fellatio. Fucking vs. blowjobs.

I’m coming (sorry) at this from a specific (heterosexual) angle; let me lay it out:

When I was in high school in the ’70s, getting sex from a girl was hard to come (sorry) by. Perhaps I just wasn’t a very good closer, or maybe I preferred the company of “good girls,” but in order to, in our lexicon, “ball a chick,” you pretty much had to date a girl for awhile, have said the L-word and perhaps even hinted that you were considering a long-term future with her.

Then the girl might let you “make love” to her — usually in pretty uptight, unimaginative ways. (Not that we complained.) Let me stress that these were the experiences of me and most of my friends — rarely, in high school, did a guy come rollin’ up with a story about how he scored with some chick he just met. It may have been different elsewhere, but I get the sense that this is a pretty fair depiction of the sexual mores of teenagers during my late adolescence.

So with enough diligence, you could get laid. Blowjobs, on the other hand, were a different matter. That was a major leap, and a young man would be very proud indeed if he was able to procure such a service (from his girlfriend, of course). By and large, the high school girls we knew and dated were of the I’m-not-putting-that-nasty-thing-in-my-mouth mindset. Blowjobs were dirty.

That script seems to have flipped. From anecdotal data I’ve picked up from some of my younger friends and colleagues, blowjobs have become a sort of social currency. No big deal. One friend of mind, who’s now 30, remembers having first dates with girls in high school whose stance was, more or less: I won’t fuck you, but I’ll give you a blowjob.

I’m a little envious, I guess.

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You probably don’t know the name Dennis Lambert, but you know the man’s work. During most of the ’70s and into the ’80s, he was part of a songwriting/producing tandem that routinely spun out chart-topping singles.

The tunes cut a broad stylistic swath: Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds’ “Don’t Pull Your Love,” Player’s “Baby Come Back,” The Commodores’ “Night Shift,” The Four Tops’ “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got),” Starship’s “We Built This City,” to name a few.

After watching his stock in the music biz fall in the ’90s, Lambert retreated from New York to Boca Raton, where he built a successful career in real estate.

He’s the subject of a documentary, Of All the Things — lovingly directed by his son Jody Lambert — that’s showing at the Gasparilla Film Festival.

The film follows Dennis Lambert’s return to a country where he enjoyed his only real success as a solo artist: The Philippines. His 1972 album Bags and Things turned out to be a monster hit in that island country; the love ballad “Of All the Things” is still adored by the citizenry, and has become something of a wedding anthem.

Set in 2007, Of All the Things follows a 60-year-old real estate agent who hasn’t worked in music for several years through the travails of setting up and performing a mini-tour of The Philippines, culminating in a sold-out show at a 10,500-seat arena in Manilla.

It’s a genuinely affecting little doc, at turns funny, heartwarming and a little sad. And a little cheesy. Lambert’s a mensch who gets to be a rock star for a couple of weeks.

I caught up with him by phone earlier this week. He says he’s trying to arrange his schedule to attend the Gasparilla Film fest. At other such events, he’s scheduled gigs, but that won’t happen in Tampa.

Of All the Things shows Sat., Feb. 28, 6:20-7:43 p.m. at Channelside 3 and Sun., March 1, 2:50 p.m. at Channelside 4.

This is an edited version of our chat:

One thing the film doesn’t address and I’m curious: Did you retain the rights to your songs? You should be able to make a pretty good living off of royalties from all those hits.

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Billboard reports:

The first picture of a bruised and bloodied Rihanna after her alleged assault by singer Chris Brown has surfaced on the Internet, prompting an investigation by Los Angeles police into how it was leaked.

Read more.

Here’s the photo in question.

And here’s another…

You may have heard that Pearl Jam is set to reissue its landmark Ten album on March 24 in four versions. Originally released in 1991, the album was a watershed of the grunge movement that pushed alternative rock into mainstream consciousness.

The band’s MySpace page is featuring an unreleased track, “Brother,” from the sessions.

Pearl Jam’s official website allows you to stream six songs from the reissue. Hear stuff from MTV Unplugged, a live concert and some remixed versions of songs from Ten.

Here’s some scoop on the components of the reissue packages:

• Remaster of original Ten album + remix by producer Brendan O’Brien
• DVD of previously unreleased 1992 Pearl Jam MTV Unplugged performance with 5.1 surround sound audio remix
• LP of the band’s 1992 “Drop in the Park” concert
• Replica of Pearl Jam three-song demo cassette with Eddie Vedder’s original vocal dubs
• Recreation of Eddie Vedder composition notebook
• Never before seen memorabilia
• Bonus tracks and more.

Just yesterday it came out that Madonna was the music artist who made the most money in 2008, nearly a quarter-billion bucks, and now a nude photo of her has prompted an unnamed European to plunk down $37,500 for a photo of her nekkid. The photo session was in 1979 when she was 20. The full-frontal shot previously appeared in Playboy in ‘85.

I looked around online in hopes of presenting you the photograph in question, but no luck. I can just see hundreds of middle-age men rifling through the box of old Playboys in the attic.

Read more.

What musical artist made the most dough in 2008? Madonna. How much?

How ’bout — ta-da! — $242,176,466.

The rest of the Top 5 goes like this:

2. Bon Jovi: $157,177,766
3. Bruce Springsteen: $156,327,964
4. The Police: $109,976,894
5. Celine Dion: $99,171,237

To see the remainder of the Top 20, click here.

The band’s publicity firm, the Mitch Schneider Organization, sent out a missive hipping us to sit-down interview with Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. Check it out.

With Jeff Garcia likely moving on and Brian Griese with one year left on his contract, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed QB Luke McCown. With the departure of Jon Gruden, McCown will perhaps get a legitimate shot to start and prove his worth as an NFL quarterback. Contract terms were not readily available. Read the full story.

This just in from our friends at Big Hassle Media: Kings of Leon tour dates, including a stop in Tampa at the Sun Dome on Fri., May 8. Tickets go on sale Fri., Feb. 13.

The band’s latest album, Only By The Night, was released on September 23, 2008 and debuted in the top five on the Billboard Top 200 and  No. 1 at the iTunes store. The band has since performed on Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman.

Tour Dates w/ On Sale Dates Below:

APRIL 2009
19 – Boston, MA – Agganis Arena (On Sale 2/13)
21 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre (On Sale 2/13)
22 – Pittsburgh, PA – Palumbo (On Sale 2/13)
24 – Fairfax, VA – Patriot Center (On Sale 2/20)
25 – Philadelphia, PA – Spectrum (On Sale 2/13)
27 – Norfolk, VA – Constant Convocation Centre @ ODU (On Sale 2/14)
28 – Raleigh, NC – Koka Booth Amphitheatre (On Sale 2/13)
30 – Charlotte, NC – Bojangles’ Coliseum (On Sale 2/13)
MAY 2009
04 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre (On Sale 2/14)
05 – Orlando, FL – UCF Arena (On Sale 2/13)
07 – Miami, FL – Bank United Center (On Sale 2/13)
08 – Tampa, FL – Sundome (On Sale 2/13)
10 – Charleston, SC – North Charleston Coliseum (On Sale 2/13)
12 – Cincinnati, OH – National City Pavilion (On Sale 2/14)
13 – Cleveland, OH – Tower City (On Sale 2/13)
19 – Phoenix, AZ – Mesa Amphitheatre (On Sale 2/14)
21 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (On Sale 2/22)

He’ll be pitching his economic stimulus plan in  town with 10-percent unemployment. For more click here.

Think Val Kilmer is kind of a weird dude? How much fun would it be to have him as governor?

This just in:

Having variously portrayed God, Moses and Philip II of Macedon in his unpredictable career, Val Kilmer may be contemplating a role that would carry more real-world authority. In an interview with The Associated Press, Mr. Kilmer said he may consider running for governor of New Mexico in 2010, when a term-limit law would prevent Gov. Bill Richardson from seeking a third stay in office (although that’s what opponents of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg thought, too). “I’m just looking for ways to be contributive,” Mr. Kilmer said, according to The A.P. “And if that ends up being where I can make a substantial contribution, then I’ll run.” Though born and raised in Los Angeles, Mr. Kilmer, a star of films including “The Doors” and “Batman Forever,” has resided for two decades in New Mexico, where he keeps a 6,000-acre ranch outside of Santa Fe. He said he had not conclusively decided to seek office, but told The A.P., “If I run, I’m going to be the next governor.”

I left the charger to my cheapo cell phone in a Jacksonville motel room a two weekends ago, and when I went to the AT&T store to replace it, the fuckers wanted THIRTY BUCKS for a new one.

I walked. When I went to Radio Shack, they had adapter plugs for $10, but then you had to buy the universal charger — for THIRTY BUCKS.

Not my new cell phone charger

I was all set to bite the bullet and buy the AT&T charger when my colleague Jamie piped up with a suggestion: Go to a hotel, tell them you stayed there and left your charger. They’ll pull out a box of chargers that you can rifle through and grab one that fits.

I headed to a semi-upscale hotel in Tampa and gave  the woman at the desk the story. She asked for my name — I gave her my real one — and started perusing the computer for it. Hmm, I thought, not as easy as Jamie made it out to be. She said she had no record of me. I did the hem-and-haw thing, told her it might’ve been under a corporate account, then just stood there, mum. After a few seconds, she said, “Would you like to look in our box and see if you can find it?”

“That would be great,” I replied all sunny-like.

She produced box of tangled cell phone chargers that looked like a ball of black yarn a cat had ravaged. I started picking through it. Apparently, every cell phone make has a different style charger (easier to sell expensive replacements that way). I went through about 20 plugs that poked out of the wire ball. Nothing. Just about to give up, I spotted one in the morass of black. Plugged it — it fit.

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This just showed up in my e-mail inbox:

PickTheBand.com, the world’s first online record label where the fans run the label has partnered with ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, to present the first Pick The Band national competition to pick the best unsigned rock band in America. Registration has already begun on the PickTheBand.com website and will continue through Feb. 22. The contest itself will begin on March 2 and voting will run through March 31, with a featured performance at the ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo in April in Los Angeles as the top prize.

“Of the new models for finding talent we believe Pick The Band has a great formula and we are excited to have them involved with the ASCAP Expo,” said Randy Grimmett, ASCAP Sr. VP, Domestic Membership. “”The EXPO is the first and only national conference 100 percent dedicated to songwriting and composing. With a focus on connecting aspiring music creators, it’s the perfect opportunity to showcase Pick The Band’s winner.”

The contest has been designed to showcase bands in a variety of ways, not just through their music, to get the fans to know as much as possible about them. Registration is easy. Go to PickTheBand.com for info. You must submit the following:
•    An original music video (set to a good quality original song)
•    2 original songs in MP3 format
•    A video of a live performance (with good audio quality)
•    10-15 band photos

On 1A of the St. Petersburg Times, sports columnist Gary Shelton trumpeted last night’s game as the greatest Super Bowl ever. It ranks high on my list, but I still have to give the overall nod to last year’s Giants/Patriots juggernaut. Admittedly, I liked the outcome of that game better than this one. I was surprised at how fervently I ended up rooting for the Cardinals, even though I’ve never been within a hundred miles of Phoenix. Something about them coming up short in their first chance for an NFL title since 1947 I found particularly poignant.

Larry Fitzgerald

For awhile, I thought the burgeoning recognition of otherworldly Cards receiver Larry Fitzgerald was going to flicker out like a spent candle. I’ve become a fan of his, and in the first half the Steelers bottled him up. But he busted out late with two touchdown catches and more than a hundred yards receiving. He would’ve been my MVP had the Cardinals won. Endorsements next?

Like the Springsteen halftime performance, I’ve been seeing raves about Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of the National Anthem. I thought it was too overheated and the tempo way too slow.

Was I the only one who thought the pregame on-field appearance of “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III and his crew was inappropriate? Yeah, he did a heroic thing that shouldn’t be diminished, but his appearance came off like a blatant, out-of-left-field tug at the heartstrings.

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One of the best.

One of the best Super Bowls ever. That’s two in a row.

Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23.

For a good portion of the game, it looked like it was going to be one of those ho-hum affairs, and order would be restored.

Instead, Kurt Warner and the Cardinals mounted a serious comeback in the fourth quarter, and made it a jump-out-your-seat contest.

I was at a friend’s house in Seminole, with maybe 25 folks, and almost everyone was pulling for Arizona. When Larry Fitzgerald caught a long touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter, it looked like another titanic Super Bowl upset was in the making. Instead, Ben Roesthlisberger led the Steelers on a drive that culminated in an acrobatic catch by Santonio Holmes to take the lead.

A lead that held. With 29 seconds left, Warner took the helm, and Arizona backers fantasized about Fitzgerald making another one of his leaping, circus catches in the end zone for a Cardinal win.

It was not to be.

Still, it ended up being a terrific game to watch, even though it was a bit heartbreaking to see the Cards, who haven’t won an NFL championship since 1947, come up short.

A close-up of Fitzgerald, wide-eyed, saying, “Oh no, oh no, oh no,” told the story.

The game had everything to excite watchers, including a 100-yard interception return at the end of the first half by Steelers’s linebacker James Harrison that proved to be a major swing.

The referees played a big part in the outcome, having to decide several replays, and throwing penalty flags at crucial times. But TV replays showed that they made the right calls, although it was curious that they didn’t review the last Cardinals play, in which it was ruled the Warner fumbled.

It appeared, at the very least, that the officials should’ve looked at the play to see if Warner was in his throwing motion, which would have resulted in an incomplete pass, and one more chance for Warner to heave a hail mary, possibly giving Fitzgerald one more chance.

Instead, the Steelers walked away with a record sixth Super Bowl trophy in a game that will be remembered fondly by football fans for decades to come.

Cards bettors were happy. The Steelers did not cover the 7-point spread.

Maybe Will and Jada, Ashton and Demi, and Paris showed up later — a spokesman for The Good Life Experience, the three-day bash that culminated last night at the The Venue, said they were expected. But when I bailed media row (around 12:30) at the red carpet (actually it was white) they hadn’t shown yet, nor had many celebrities of particular renown.

To say that the red carpet is an absurd phenomenon would be stating the obvious, but until you’ve “worked” one, it doesn’t really sink in. I mean, I get the red carpet at the Oscar-type things, but at one of a dozen Super Bowl parties around Tampa Bay, the ritual just seems an unnecessary contrivance.

The only legitimate celebs I saw traipse down the other side of the velvet rope were Deion Sanders (one of the hosts with Diddy and Winky Wright) and Jordin Sparks, the bubbly singer and former American Idol winner. Winky is a celeb of sorts, but he lives in St. Pete.

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After wandering around Media Day at Raymond James Stadium, squeezing my way in front of the stars while reporters shouted inane questions, I made my way up into the bleachers where it was less frenzied. That’s where I saw a good-looking large fellow sitting all by his lonesome. It said “Spaeth” on the back of his jersey and judging by the No. 89 I figured he was a tight end, maybe a guy who played on special teams.

I sat down behind his left shoulder and said told him I wasn’t a sportswriter, more of a “lifestyle writer.” He replied, “Perfect, I’m more of a lifestye guy anyways.”

We had a leisurely chat for a little more than 10 minutes, talked about what was on Matt’s iPod, then moved onto … football. But not X’s-and-O’s football, more about football from Speath’s perspective, from a lifestyle perspective. I found him to be a thoughtful, interesting young man. As it turns out, Matt’s on the field about 40 plays a game, as part of the Steelers’ two-tight-end sets. He caught touchdown passes in his first two games as a rookie in ‘07.

Here’s an audio recording of highlights of our interview, which was much like a conversation. Download.

Matt Spaeth

Much has been made over the last few days about the celebrities (or lack thereof) who will be populating the various Super Bowl week parties around the Bay area. It appears as if high-profile places like The Venue and Aja are not giving up many guest names other than party hosts, and we can understand: What if a party says Jamie Foxx is confirmed and he doesn’t show?

Not all parties are being so close to the vest about their guest lists, though. CL sales guy Hamgravy came back to the office with the skinny on one of the area’s most star-studded bashes. It’s at Plush Ultra Lounge in Thonotosassa and the confirmed guest list includes:

Gil Gerard, Connie Selleca, Willie Tyler & Lester, Jamie Farr, Sherman Hemsley, Brian Keith, Dan Blocker, Morris Day (and Jerome), Shields of Shields and Arnell, Charley Pride, Pat Cooper, GG Allin, Brian Keith, Sherry Lewis and Lambchop, Marilyn McCoo (but not Billy Davis Jr.), England Dan (but not John Ford Coley), Marla Gibbs, Billy Dee Williams, Chad and Jeremy, Robert Guillame, Sandy Duncan, Ruth Buzzi, Charo,

Larry Storch

Burt Reynolds-Lonnie Anderson-Dom DeLuise, Fran Drescher, Mac Davis, Dawn (but not Tony Orlando), Roman Gabriel, the Unknown Comic, Father Guido Sarducci, Larry Storch, Porter Wagoner, Rod “Toast” Jones, Cleveland Wheeler, World B. Free, Bill Buckner, Mickey Rivers, Pam Dawber, David Faustino, C. Thomas Howell and Ally Sheedy, and the Funk Brothers, Dory and Terry. Oh, and Vicky Lawerence as “Mama.” Music by Ferrante and Teicher.

If any of you readers hear about new additions to the guest list, please leave a comment.

A hulking, bearded man of 6-feet-9 stood in the bleachers during Super Bowl Media Day at Raymond James Stadium. He was a boisterous fellow who seemed to be enjoying himself. His name:  Jason Capizzi. He plays offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers and wears No. 69. After Capizzi acommodated a guy from armed forces media and did a video message to the troops in Iraq, I sidled up to him.

“So Jason, how’d you get number 69?” I asked.

He chuckled and replied, “That’s all they had left. I’m serious!”

We then had a brief, lighthearted exchange. Take a listen. Download.

Jason Capizzi

At Super Bowl Media Day, the star players sit at podiums and take questions from a throng of reporters, while the lesser names sit up in the stands and do interviews. Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin is a podium guy.

Reporters practiced in the art of gang interviewing (or those with high-profile TV faces) get to ask most of the questions, but I did manage to fire a query at Boldin (after the media horde had thinned). I wanted to ask if he studied Marcel Proust at Florida State, and, if so, what was his favorite part of “Remembrance of Things Past.”

I got this instead:

I’m real picky when it comes to pop stars singing the National Anthem at sports events. Too many artists tend to oversing, over-emote and occasionally turn it into a Patti LaBelle-esque shriek-a-thon. That said, I don’t expect everyone to sing the song exactly note for note — as a tune, it’s pretty  lame — so it’s cool when performers take a certain amount of license.

Last Sunday, I saw pop star/American Idol winner Jordin Sparks tackle the anthem at the NFC Championship Game. She nailed it, gave the song just the right amount of extra oomph, hit some stratospheric notes, bent a few phrases gospel-style and generally raised the hairs on my neck. Right after she finished, play-by-play announcer Joe Buck let out a “Wow!”

Sparks is in town for Super Bowl week, and last night I had a chance to do a quick interview with her as makeup and hair artists dolled her up for a charity performance at Roy’s restaurant in Tampa. The bubbly 20-year-old gave me a panicked look when I asked if we could talk a few minutes about her approach to singing the National Anthem in cavernous stadiums.

“What?” she asked. I repeated my request, and she said, relieved, “Oh, I thought you said you wanted me to sing the National Anthem.”

Sparks agreed that some artists overdo it. “Sometimes I’ll see it and I’m like, ‘OK, it’s not about you,’” she said. “If you’re out there singing the National Anthem, you’ve got enough talent to do it, so just go out there and sing the song as best you can — without butchering it.”

Her approach: “I remember when I first started doing sports events, I thought, ‘When I sing it, I don’t want to make it into a pop song,’ but I did want to put emotion into it — like how I would feel if I was the one standing there seeing that flag still standing amid all the bombs, feeling that sense of pride. I try to emote that, to get that in there.

“But it’s not about me, not about me at all. I always feel so honored to sing the National Anthem. It’s our national song. I think I get the most nervous when I sing it, because if I suck, noboby’s gonna let me live it down.”

I told Sparks about my favorite rendition of the Anthem: Marvin Gaye’s re-imagining of the song during the 1983 NBA All-Star Game. She fairly shrieked and said, “Oh, I have to put that into my phone right now.”

Sparks sang “The Star Spangled Banner” at last year’s Super Bowl. (Jennifer Hudson gets the honor this year.) Here’s a video of Sparks’ performance last Sunday at the NFC Championship Game.

Talk about your fish out of water.

Take a veteran alt-weekly journalist and thrust him into Super Bowl Media Day. Loaded down with a video camera, a digital audio recorder and a digital still camera (oh, and a notebook, made of paper), the one-man-media-gang that was me joined a sea of others for more than two hours today at Raymond James Stadium.

A zoo. There had to be more than 2,000 media types herding around one side of the stadium, documenting the finer points of Larry Fitzgerald’s hair, Hines Ward’s diet, Troy Polamalu’s spirituality (and hair), Mike Tomlin’s hunger for winning, Ben Roethlisberger’s admiration for Kurt Warner (and vice versa), and more X’s-and-O’s 101 than one could stand.

Larry Fitzgerald and his hair

See more photos below the jump…

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Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Martin Gramatica, a fan favorite during his years with the team, did a guest spot on the Ron & Ian show on the Sports Animal this morning, and he offered up a couple of tidbits that most fans weren’t aware of.

Before Gramatica came on, the hosts talked about how he could’ve benefited from a sports psychologist. During his last phase with the Bucs, Gramatica missed a lot of kicks, some of them routine ones.

Gramatica informed the hosts that his kicking woes in Tampa Bay were not mental but physical. He’s had three groin surgeries in recent years. The problem started in the Super Bowl year of 2002, and then worsened the following season. Gramatica said the Bucs misdiagnosed his injury, and that he kept rehabbing but the injury persisted. He kicked the following season in significant pain and was released in 2004.

Gramatica last kicked for the New Orleans Saints in ‘08, but ended the season on Injured Reserve. He told Ron & Ian that he has no plans to return to the NFL, that he didn’t think his groin would hold up. He’s 33. He considers himself a lifelong Tampa resident.

Gramatica also touched on the subject of recently deposed Bucs coach Jon Gruden. Like other players who are coming out of the woodwork now that Gruden’s gone, he had less than flattering things to say. The former kicker allowed that Gruden’s rah-rah approach might’ve worked early on, but that it quickly grew old.

Gramatica also relayed a more personal story: When Gruden cut him, he hugged Gramatica and said he loved him. When Gramatica encountered the coach not long after at a golf tournament, Gruden acted like he didn’t exist.

In other Gruden news, Bucs QB Jeff Garcia came revealed more details about his rocky relationship with his former head coach. Check it out.

The historic angle for the Super Bowl that Tampa Bay will host in a couple of week is probably not as compelling as most. The Arizona Cardinals improbably won the NFC Championship 32-25 over the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s the first Super Bowl for the long-suffering Cardinals, who won their last NFL championship in 1947 — against the Philadelphia Eagles. Other than the Chicago Cubs, no other professional sports franchise has gone longer between titles than the Cardinals.

Arizona will play the storied Pittsburgh Steelers, who beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-14 in 25-degree Steel City cold and light snow flurries.

The Super Bowl will pit the flashy, pass-happy offense of the Cardinals — which dominated the NFC-best Eagles defense for most of the game — against the more complete Steelers, who were the No. 1-ranked defense in all the NFL.

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And we thought the Glazers weren’t paying attention.

In a terse statement on their website, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced just before 6 p.m today that they had fired head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen .

Here’s the team’s statement:

“We will be forever grateful to Jon for bringing us the Super Bowl title, and we thank Bruce for his contributions to our franchise, however after careful consideration, we feel that this decision is in the best interest of our organization moving forward.”

Maybe the move doesn’t qualify as a shocker, but it’s definitely a surprise.

This is not the way head coach firings generally go down in the NFL. The rumor mill usually churns and the community has a sense of what’s in the offing. Locally, the sports media was definitely not abuzz with the idea that Gruden was on his way out. Further, most coaches are dismissed within a few days after the end of a season. Gruden’s ouster comes 19 days after the Bucs final game, a home loss to the Oakland Raiders that eliminated them from the playoffs.

My hunch is that the Glazer family came to the decision after considerable thought and deliberation. The owners have always been a group that seemed detached from the Tampa Bay community, but you get the sense that they were hearing the Gruden/Allen-bashing that was taking place on sports radio and in other forums.

There were a lot of empty seats in Raymond James Stadium this season, even though the Bucs sprinted to a record of 9-3 (only to lost their last four games in a historic collapse). The fans have been in a generally dour mood since the season’s end, and maybe top team brass realized it and took action.

So the topic of the moment — other than speculation about who will replace the coach and GM — is: Should Gruden and Allen have gotten the axe?

If I were in the owners’ chair, I would not have pulled the plug now. The late-season cave-in obscures the notion that the Bucs 9-7 record was about what fans should’ve expected, given the team’s level of talent. The Bucs put a roster together for the 2008 season that left an estimated $35-million of space under the NFL salary cap. If Allen was relucant to spend it, then he should certainly have been dismissed.

But there’s been a lot of speculation that the Glazers, leveraged to the teeth with their ownership of the British soccer franchise Manchester United, were running the Bucs on the cheap. If that is indeed the case, then the fault lies with ownership. Allen, hamstrung by tight purse-strings, could only do so much, and I honestly think Gruden did a decent job this year with the players he had.

That said, the Gruden act had gotten pretty stale after seven seasons at the Bucs’ helm. Some new blood will be welcomed.

In the end, it appears that Jon Gruden finally ran out of the good will he had earned by bringing the long-suffering Tampa Bay Bucs a Super Bowl championship.

The new nightclub at Channelside called Aja is blowin’ it out for Super Bowl with three parties featuring celebrity hosts and entertainment. Here’s a rundown:

• Thursday, January 29, Super Bowl Kickoff Party Featuring a 4 Turntable Set with Sounds from DJ AM and DJ Jazzy Jeff, $50.00 — Thursday kicks off the weekend with the sounds of Celebrity DJ AM (Resident LAX Las Vegas and PURE Las Vegas) and hip-hop great DJ Jazzy Jeff. This will be a 4 turntable performance.

• Friday, January 30, Friday Night Blitz Super Bowl Party Hosted By Holly Madison & Kendra Wilkinson, $300.00 per person (includes premium open bar from 9 p.m.-3 a.m.) — Friday Night Blitz Super Bowl event hosted by the stars of E! Entertainment Television’s hit reality series, The Girls Next Door, Holly Madison & Kendra Wilkinson. Along with Alex Smith (Tampa Bay Bucs), Greg Camarillo (Miami Dolphins), Drew Carter (Oakland Raiders) and Brendon Ayanbadejo (Baltimore Ravens). Music and entertainment by Celebrity DJ Scene (Resident Studio 54 and Wet Republic Las Vegas, XM Radio DJ).

• Saturday, January 31, Athletes and Angels Super Bowl Party Hosted By Pamela Anderson, $300.00 per person (includes premium open bar from 9 p.m.-3 a.m.) — With sounds by DJ Vice (Resident Tao Las Vegas). Additional hosts include Simeon Rice (Retired Tampa Bay Bucs), Shaun Phillips (Chargers), Stephen Cooper (Chargers) and Vernon Davis (49ers).

Open to the public; advance tickets available here

Aja. 290 South Meridian Avenue; Tampa, at the Towers of Channelside, just around the corner from the St. Pete Times Forum

Unless you just got released from a Supermax prison, you know that Tony Dungy retired from coaching yesterday. It’s on 1A of both local dailies, with extensive coverage on the sports pages. It’s the lead story on TV sports nationally.

Dungy’s retirement is especially big news in Tampa Bay, where he’s a revered — make that adored — figure in the community. While his profile will be lower, of course, folks in this area are excited to see him return.

Dungy deserves the adulation. He rescued the Tampa Bay Bucs from the dregs, and did so with class and integrity. Even during his tenure as coach of the Indianapolis Colts, he maintained strong ties to Tampa Bay.

He’s been canonized throughout the media, and there’s little I can add at this point, other than to agree with most all of it.

When a much-loved icon moves on, we like to indulge in a nice helping of sentimentality. And that doesn’t exclude journalists. Along with the sentimentality comes a share of revisionist history.

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How does an Arizona Cardinals/Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl sound?

I’m tempted to say that NBC, which will broadcast Super Bowl XXXXIII from Tampa , is shuddering at the thought of those two non-marquee teams clashing on Feb. 1, but really, isn’t the Super Bowl so ginormous that it transcends the matchup? People tune into the Super Bowl no matter what, right? We’ll find out.

Of the final four teams in the NFL Playoffs, only the Pittsburgh Steelers have a national following. I think it’s safe to say that folks in NBC’s executive offices are probably rooting for them against Baltimore next weekend.

Any way you cut it, this year’s game cannot approach the broad appeal of the ‘08 battle between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. And you know what? That’s OK with me. And I suspect it’s cool with most other hardcore NFL fans. As far as I’m concerned, if it can’t be the Bucs (or the Colts) in there, then let’s throw the thing wide open and make it Cardinals vs. Ravens.

A sling-it-around-the-park, wide-open-offense team vs. a gouge-out-your-eye-defense team (with the Cards winning 37-35). The Cardinals have been so down for so long that I can’t help but push for ‘em.

While the matchup probably doesn’t influence the TV viewership that much, I wonder what effect it will have on Tampa Bay, and the supposed economic boon that a Super Bowl brings. In that sense, I’m guessing that the host committee, business interests and local muckety-mucks are hoping for a Steelers/Eagles tilt. Two storied franchises, both from Pennsylvania, makes for a good storyline:

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Maybe the Bucs and their fans should view it as a merciful ending. This was a team going nowhere, even if the fates had come together and they made the playoffs. They didn’t. The Bucs needed a win at home today against the 4-11 Oakland Raiders … and a win by the Philadelphia Eagles over the Dallas Cowboys, in order to make the postseason. Instead, the scenario was inverted, with the Bucs losing 31-24, thus boosting the morale of the Eagles, who stomped all over the Cowboys. (At least I can take some consolation in the Cowboy’s woes.)

Cadillac Williams blew out his knee

This was the Bucs fourth loss in a row, marking probably the biggest collapse in team history. They went from a plum 9-3 and a shot at homefield advantage in the playoffs, to elimination. On three of the four losses, the vaunted Bucs defense looked woeful — no more so than in the second half today, when Oakland ran repeatedly over right tackle and gashed the punchless and dispirited pewter-and-red defenders.

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When the Bucs finally got around to scoring a touchdown against the Falcons Sunday afternoon – on a beautifully timed pass from Brian Griese to Antonio Bryant – I cheered enthusiastically. Suddenly I felt an arm around my throat, a pretty strong arm that had me in a choke hold.

I started to laugh. I was sitting in the Georgia Dome, corner end zone about 20 rows up. I looked over my shoulder and it was a woman, a black woman, who had kiddingly put me in the choke hold. A very cool and funny gesture, and a pretty nice way to treat a visiting fan. (Especially since she let go after a few seconds.) The play made the score 10-7 late in the first half, in a game that neither team really seemed to want to win, but the Bucs did a better job of managing to lose, 13-10 in overtime.

It was my first Bucs road game, and I’m glad it was in Atlanta, where the hometown folks don’t automatically hate the visitors, and they’re game for a little verbal sparring throughout the contest.

Later on, a guy in front of me and bit to my right, a tall, distinguished black man, said with a grin, “I can’t wait for you to go back to St. Pete.”

This is when the Bucs were doing pretty well in a mistake-marred performance. I responded, “I can’t wait to come back next year, and I’ll tell ya what: I’m going to make sure I have this exact seat.”

He had the last laugh, but I shook his hand heartily at the end.

The Georgia Dome was indicative of what I experienced during a weekend Atlanta, a place where blacks and whites mix freely and goodnaturedly. Now I’m not saying the city is some racial utopia; I’m sure there are sections of greater Atlanta where there’s considerably less tolerance, but I didn’t go to those places and thus had a very pleasant time in a genuinely mixed-race environment.

Plainly put, in Atlanta blacks and white intuitively know how to act around one another – which, generally speaking, is just to be yourself — probably because it’s such a common occurrence.

And it underscored to me that in Tampa Bay, whites and blacks don’t routinely find themselves in the same social space. Sure we share the aisles of grocery stores and such, but one race is usually in the distinct minority, depending on the section of town. We tend not to notice the segregation in Tampa Bay – because it’s such a common occurrence.

But about the game… Read the rest of this entry »

You didn’t think the New York Yankees were going to get aced out of the playoffs and just stand pat during the offseason, did ya? Reports have surfaced that the team has signed prized free agent pitcher C.C. Sabathia to a seven-year $161 million contract.

He’ the first cog in the Yankees shoring up their shaky starting rotation. Peter Gammons on ESPN said he thought Derek Lowe, who pitched for the Dodgers last season, would be next up for New York.

When Gammons was asked if he thought that the American League East would be a race between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox, he said, “No.” Meaning, the Yankees would be very much in the thick of it, because they’ll spend whatever they nee to be there.

Meanwhile, the Rays have had dinner meetings with free agents Milton Bradley and Jason Giambi.

Talk about getting exposed. This was worse than one of those dreams where you find yourself in public in your underwear. (What, you never had one of those dreams?) The Bucs must’ve spent a lot of time in the post-game locker room examining the cleat marks all over their bodies, courtesy of the Panthers rushing attack that rang up 299 yards in last night’s game, which the Bucs lost convincingly 38-23.

Here are some random observations on the disaster that was the Bucs’ only appearance this season on Monday Night Football:

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The Loaf music staff, Snider and Tatangelo, will be issuing our Top 10 albums of the year later this month, but the ball is already rolling. Here are the year-end best-of lists from Time, New York and England’s The Guardian. Click on the name of each mag and it’ll take you directly to their survey.

Time
1. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
2. TV On The Radio, Dear Science
3. Metallica, Death Magnetic
4. Girl Talk, Feed The Animals
5. Vampire Weekend
6. Kanye West, 808s And Heartbreak
7. Santogold
8. Portishead, Third
9. Lucinda Williams, Little Honey
10. Duffy, Rockferry

New York
1. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
2. TV On The Radio, Dear Science
3. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago
4. Portishead, Third
5. Hercules & Love Affair
6. Santogold
7. Fleet Foxes
8. Erykah Badu, New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War
9. Beck, Modern Guilt
10. Vampire Weekend

Guardian
1. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago
2. Amadou and Mariam, Welcome To Mali
3. Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid
4. Glasvegas
5. Kings Of Leon, Only By The Night
6. MGMT, Oracular Spectacular
7. Vampire Weekend
8. Kanye West, 808s And Heartbreak
9. Portishead, Third
10. TV On The Radio, Dear Science