6/26/98:
CATCHIN' UP WITH SOME OLD FRIENDS
There's nothing like some
ungodly heat and humidity to get me thanking
the air conditioning gods. We're quite lucky
that the palatial new ER offices feature
all the mod cons...sure, there's a small
dishwasher, an annoyingly divided sink,
and one of those electric cooktops in the
kitchen, but I only have to worry 'bout
that when The
Hungover Gourmet stops in to drop
off a column.
Fortunately, a step up in
digs meant full-blown AC for the first time
in our existence. Much better than our first
office in a South Jersey attic, or the couple
months we spent during the hottest summer
on record living below a Croat landlord
that liked testing the radiators during
90 degree evenings. Never know when one
of those pesky August cold snaps is gonna
roll into town.
Nah, can't complain too much
about the new offices, even if I am having
trouble navigating around Ken's stacks of
pornos. The time has been right to reacquaint
myself with some old pals, and even make
some new friends.
Fans of our own Stately Wayne
Manor can groove on some other things on
Manor's mind in the latest issue of BRUTARIAN.
Dom Salemi and Crew have been cranking out
that fine mix of movies, music, art, fiction
and trash culture for 24 issues now, and
this one's a doozy! Besides Manor's always-entertaining
rants there's a feature on rock darlings
Nashville Pussy and even an interview with
those kings of the night time world, KISS!
But, takin' the cake, your price of admission
feature if you will, is the interview with
director John Carpenter.
Carpenter's latest is VAMPYRE$,
a rollicking horror action flick starring
James Woods that one of our advance scouts
recently caught on the other side of the
pond. Word has it that the flick delivers
the goods, but that's beside the point.
Carpenter's an intelligent read, and Dennis
Etchinson's interview touches on a wide
range of topics.
Do yourself a favor and get
the new BRUTARIAN pronto...it's a cheap
$12 for the next year's worth, so set aside
that beer money and sign yourself up. Checks
payable to Dom Salemi to PO Box 25222, Arlington,
VCA 22202-9222.
Another old pal that's doing
good is Gerald Collier, late of the power-pop
band Best Kissers in the World. A little
too clever for their own good, the Kissers
never got the respect they deserved. Anyway,
Collier's out on his own with his second
solo disc, this one being self-titled and
available on Revolution
Records.
Less in the Kissers vein and
more in the Wilco or Whiskeytown realm,
Collier's always had a way with a phrase,
and even when he's lifting a Led Zep riff
here or there, it all sounds good. A sleepy,
charming little disc that grows on you like
mold on a hot day.
Last, but not least, I'd be
remiss if I failed to give a big round of
applause to Fox and the creative team behind
MILLENNIUM. Season two was a smashing success,
ending with Lara Means going nutso to a
heavy metal beat while Frank's wife walked
into the woods to cap herself...heavy stuff.
Keep up to date on the latest MILLENNIUM
news and rumors with the following links...
That's it for this week. Stay
cool, and I mean that literally and figuratively.
Until next Friday...
